Why is this pissing me off?
“Are you pissed because you care or because you don’t like someone else playing with your toys?” Enoch snaps at me, and I reel back.
“Watch it,” Becket warns Enoch.
“When the fuck have I treated any of you like toys?” I demand. “I don’t play with you and set you down. I don’t string you along.”
“You sure were quick to mark us as your territory though,” Nash tells me.
“I was protecting you. She tried to kill us! How the hell did I become the bad guy in this scenario?”
“You’re not, but I don’t understand why you’d want to keep us tied to you, knowing that we aren’t your Chosen. We could never have what you have with your guys if we commit ourselves to you,” Enoch explains.
“I am not trying to force you into anything with me, Enoch. But if you think Suryn is going to make you Chosen, I think you’re delusional. She hates us.”
“Sauriel thinks she will come around,” Enoch defends.
I scoff, “Oh, does he now?”
“What does that mean?” Enoch demands.
“Look at the fucking source there. You’re going to blindly trust Adriel’s brother?”
“They’re nothing alike, Vinna. You don’t know Sauriel, and you know nothing about Suryn,” he defends.
“And just what the fuck do you know about her, other than she can get you where you want to go faster than I can?” I growl at him.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“What the fuck do you think it means, Enoch?”
“Both of you stop! This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Nash orders.
“Well, where the fuck did you want this to get you? Do you want my permission? Fine, you’ve got it. Do what you want to do, but let’s not pretend it’s something that it’s not,” I snap as I get up and move toward the door.
“And just what the fuck is that?” Enoch snaps back.
“A power grab,” I state simply. “You weren’t getting it from me, and this opportunity is just too good to pass up, isn’t it, Enoch?”
I don’t wait for him to answer. I slip out of their room and have to stop myself from slamming the door. Our suite is quiet and peaceful, which is the exact opposite of how I feel inside. I’m fucking pissed, and I storm out the front door without a second thought. The halls of the castle are quiet, and there’s a sleepy quality to the air as I silently navigate away from the rooms. I feel like I can’t get away fast enough.
I want to scream and pound on something. Knox was right all along about Enoch. But even as I think those words, they feel wrong. There’s more here, and I’m just not seeing it. I retrace the path that Suryn took us the first time. If I can get back down to the throne room, then I know how to get out of the castle. From there, I can get back to that training facility. Maybe they’ll have replaced the poles I broke last time, and I’ll have something new to break again. Worst case scenario, I’ll find a tree and just punch the shit out of that.
I turn left and right, the way that I remember, but instead of finding the flight of stairs that I expect to be there, I find myself in a dark corridor. Was this here last time? I keep going. Maybe it all just looks different at night. I walk silently and swiftly until the area starts to look somewhat more familiar, or perhaps this place has oil paintings similar to the other parts of the castle that I know.
I trek on for another twenty minutes before finally accepting that I’m lost. I huff out an irritated breath and turn around to retrace my steps. I pause when I notice a ball of fairy light slowly moving in my direction. My first thought is that it’s Enoch or one of the other guys chasing after me, but I quickly realize that they don’t know how to make fairy light and wouldn’t be using it to guide their way.
Unease flares inside of me, and I slink back into a corner and activate the runes that increase my hearing, vision, and smell.
“Only another day or so, and then their deliberations will be complete,” a male voice explains.
“And will they do the right thing?” a female voice inquires.
“The outcome is not as sure as we would like. She is close with members of the old Houses, and with ataintedin the tribunal…” the male trails off.
“So it will be up to us then,” the female declares, and the man gives an affirming grunt.
“Arrange it,” she orders, and goosebumps prickle up my arms and neck.
