I should have stopped him. I should have done something.Instead, I stood there like a coward and let it happen.
She wants to kill me. It’s clear in her eyes that she thinks about killing me every time she looks at me. I’m sure that if she had Cairn’s permission she wouldn’t hesitate.
When Cairn returns, I’m sitting on the far side of the tent, with my back against the wall. I don’t move when he enters, tracking him with my eyes as he crosses to his chair and sits, stretching his legs out. With a finger snap, a goblet appears on the table beside him. He reaches for it, lifts it to his lips and takes a sip. Then he sets it back down and looks at me.
“You’re not kneeling.”
“No.”
I brace myself, but he doesn’t move. The silence stretches until I want to scream just to fill it. I can feel him waiting for me to break and crawl across the floor toward him.
I fight against it, and stay where I am.
“I heard you apologized to Serath.”
“Who?”
“She brought your porridge today. You apologized to her.”
“Yes.”
“Why? Feeling guilty?” His tone is light, almost conversational. “Or just hoping that if you say sorry enough times, one of us might actually believe you mean it?”
“I do mean it.”
“You look terrible.” It takes a second for my brain to process his change of topic.
What does he expect? I’m still wearing the same nightgown I was taken in, my hair is a tangled mess, I haven’t been able to bathe properly in days. But hearing him say it, in that flat dismissive voice, makes my face burn.
“Whose fault is that?”
“Yours, I’d imagine. You could have asked to wash, for cleanclothes, for something to brush your hair.” He tilts his head, eyes gleaming. “Unless you’ve given up. Is that it?” Those lips curl into that smile I’ve grown to hate. “Those fae out there survived three centuries in cages. You haven’t even lasted for four days without surrendering to your fate.”
Hate flashes through me. “I haven’t surrendered.”
“No?” He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Then why haven’t you tried to escape again? Why haven’t you attacked me? Why haven’t you done anything except pace and cry and feel sorry for yourself?”
“The collar won’t let me leave. You’re stronger than I am.Faster. Even if I got past you and made it outside, there are more of you out there. I don’t even know where I am. So yes, I’ve been pacing. What else is there for me to do?” My voice rises with every word. I don’t even know I’m yelling until I fall silent.
“What else is there,” he repeats. “That’s the question, isn’t it? What more is there to you? All I see is a frightened female who’s given up.” He leans back in his chair. “Disappointing, really. I expected more from the princess who came to hunt me. More … spirit.”
The disgust in his voice makes my fingers clench into the fur. “What do you want from me? You want me to kneel, I kneel. You want me to stay in this tent, I stay. What more is there?”
“You could give me something interesting. Fight back.”
“Fight back?What exactly am I supposed to fight with?”
“Your words. Your anger. Your desperate need to feel like you still have power and control over your life.” He laughs. “Come on,pet. Show me the girl who walked into the Dell ready to kill. Show me some fire.”
His words shake something loose inside me, and I’m on my feet and halfway toward him before I even realize I’ve made the decision to move.
“You want fire?” My voice shakes. “Fine. Ihateyou. I hate this tent. I hate this collar. I hate the way you look at me. I hate that you’re right! Ihavegiven up, because there’s nothing else for me to do. I hate that I’m trapped inside this cage with no way out. I hate that I know it’s not even close to what your kind has suffered.” I suck in a shaky breath. “I can feel myself going mad one hour at a time, and you sit there andmockme for it!”
“There she is.” Heat curls through his voice. “There’s the hunter who came after me. I was starting to think she’d disappeared entirely.”
I don’t understand him. I don’t understand what he wants or what game he’s playing. One minute he’s cold, dismissive and terrifying, the next he’s almost pleased when I snap at him.
“I need to get out of this tent.”
