He stared at her.
“For saving your life. You’re welcome.” She could have let him bleed out. She hadn’t. I wondered why.
“We’re even.”
“Even?” A flush colored her cheeks. Prettily. “You’re the man who ripped me from my home and then let Drake and Carron torture me. You threw me into the pit to die. If I were you, I’d never mention ‘even’ again.”
“I saved you from the wyvern.” It was official. Grayson was a fucking idiot.
A storm raged in her gray eyes. “As I remember, the wyvern ate your sword. I gave you a second weapon.”
“How?” he demanded.
She stared into the fire as long seconds passed, ignoring the rising tension.
“Answer me!”
She shifted her gaze. “Do I demand you share your secrets?”
“I’m in charge.” Spoken like a man who’d lost control.
I winced on his behalf. Even an idiot, which Grayson definitely was, could tell that wasn’t a winning argument.
“Because you’re a man.”
“Because I earned the right to lead.”
“Is that what you call it? Leadership?”
Grayson ground his teeth. Loudly. If he kept that up, he’d need a dentist.
Haven smiled sweetly. “How many female guards? How many female councillors?”
Flynn raised his hand. “Ooh, I know this one. Is it zero?”
Haven chuckled.
Grayson ground his teeth. “We’re not talking about politics. We’re talking about you.”
“Politics are what landed me here. Politics give men powerand leave women vulnerable.” A fire burned in her eyes as her gaze traveled between the four of us.
We’d threatened her grandmother, and she hadn’t forgotten. Or forgiven. I forced myself to meet her gaze, hoping she’d see the regret in my eyes.
“Ease up, Grayson.” Pierce, who’d taken the other seat next to Haven, held up his hands in mock surrender. “Truce?”
Grayson ignored him. “Where did the sword come from?”
“I called it,” she snapped.
“How?” He stepped close enough to loom above her.
I itched to put my hand on his shoulder and pull him back. Instead, I strengthened the vines keeping out the wind. Apparently, with Haven present, my strategy for conflict resolution was passive-aggressive gardening.
Haven stared up at him for long seconds, then her shoulders slumped, as if she’d decided arguing with Grayson wasn’t worth the effort. “If I know where something is, if I can see it in my mind, I can call it to me.”
Next to her, Pierce stared into the fire as if his life depended on it.
“How?” Firelight reflected in Grayson’s eyes as he scowled at her.
