“Training? People can die when they train with you? Because if so, then maybe I’m glad you asked my father to cancel our sessions.”
He blinked at me once. “For the record, I asked Verren no such thing. And if you must know, those males were never in any danger. They were prepared for things to get rough, but I would never actually harm my own soldiers.”
I gawked at his unfettered arrogance. “What if you missed?” I sputtered. “What if you didn’t catch them in time? They would have died.”
Sin took a slow step toward me. “I don’t miss.”
I snorted. “Well that’s cocky.”
“No, it’s accurate.”
I glared at him. “The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
Sin grinned at my words. Not the heart-stopping smile he gave me last night. No, this grin was positively devilish. “I’m glad we agree then,” he said smoothly before slipping his mask of indifference back on. “Now, do you plan to tell me what you’re doing here, or did you honestly just come to give me a lecture about my own abilities?”
“No, I came to talk to you about my father.”
“And what would you like to know about the illustrious Verren?” he asked, turning to cross the arena toward the weapons room.
“I need to know if… Is he…” I tried to figure out how best to formulate my question.
“Spit it out, Rain.”
“Is he evil?” I finally managed to ask. “Like, is he a genuinely bad person?”
Sin stalled halfway across the arena. “Evil is a relative term,” he answered. “And I don’t think I’m the best one to ask about that.”
I don’t know why I had thought that he would make this easy.
“Fine. How about this? Is he keeping secrets from me?”
Sin resumed his trek across the arena. “Everybody keeps secrets, Fea Remia. Even you, I’m sure.”
“You are being incredibly unhelpful,” I stated, following close on his heels.
“Perhaps you should ask better questions.”
I grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn back to me. I wanted to see his face when I askedthisquestion. “Then tell me… did you know that he found my purse and was hiding it from me?”
His eyes locked on mine. “No,” he calmly replied.
“Liar!” I hissed venomously, his denial fueling my anger. “Last night during my panic attack I heard you tell Dey that I didn’t have my medication. There is no way you could have known about that unless my father told you what was in my purse.”
Sin pivoted sharply and started to walk away. “That’s not how I knew about it.”
“Yeah, right. You’re clearly lying, Sin. You and everybody else in this damned castle. Is that another Vitaean trait?” I shouted at his back. “Are you all just a bunch of deceitful jerks?”
Sin stopped in front of the steps down to the hallway, still refusing to face me. “I’m not lying, Rain,” he said, his voice tighter now.
“Oh, really? Then tell me how you could have possibly known about my meds if it wasn’t from my father.” I waited, but he remained a stone statue. “Tell me!”
“Because I’ve seen you take it before!” he shouted, as he whirled around and closed the distance between us in a flash. “Back in your world. I saw you struggling to breathe, struggling to even stand. You opened that orange bottle, took whatever was inside, and then you were fine. It was the same thing I saw happening last night, and if I had known Verren had your pills I would never have kept them from you. I may be a monster, but I’m notthatkind of monster.”
I just stood there, our chests one good inhale from touching, as I soaked up the intensity in his eyes that had been absent since our kiss. I searched his face for the truth and found not one hint of deception.
“But you never found me in my world,” I whispered, my voice soft with confusion. “Dey found me first.”
Sin closed his eyes tightly and took a step back from me. When he opened them again, they were as cold as ice.
