“Amaris, you were never meant to hear that.”
“Save it,” she snapped. Navy pools darkened her irises, ripping away all the light. She threw her hands against his chest, shoving him into the wall as she ran around the corner.
“Amaris,” Theo whispered urgently after her. Alan could still be lurking.
“Go to hell!”
Theo never understood half her insults, but with the emphasis she put into them, she meant to wound. Theo sprinted after her, grabbing her by the waist.
“Put. Me. Down.”
He covered her mouth and carried her toward the kitchen.
“If you don’t keep quiet, someone will find you and throw you in the dungeons,” Theo said into her ear, not bothering to lighten his tone. He tore open the kitchen doors and threw her inside, shutting them behind him.
Tears streaked her face, ones of anguish. She could hate him all she wanted, but he wouldn’t have an innocent woman condemned.
“You’re no different from your father or Bennet, you bastard.” Hervoice cracked. “I can handle myself.”
“You almost got yourself caught. You have no idea where the sentry stations are, do you?” he scolded.
She didn’t balk but instead pulled her shoulders back and clenched her hands into fists. She was the most stubborn person he’d ever dealt with.
“I have everything figured out.”
“Do you?” he shouted, his hand dragging through his hair. “Because it looks like you’re making this up as you go. There are guards stationed all throughout the grounds. You never would’ve made it beyond the wall.”
“I’ve escaped one prison. What’s another?” she blurted out. Her hand instantly slapped against her mouth. All traces of anger dissipated. Her shoulders dropped, and the navy flakes in her eyes dispersed.
Theo’s gaze sharpened on her. “You…what?”
“Fuck, not an actual prison,” she said, throwing her hands over her eyes. “It’s a figure of speech.” She stumbled back into the wooden countertop. Her head whipped as if she was expecting the black cabinetry to be someone waiting to drag her away. She turned to race out of the kitchen, but Theo grabbed her hand, pulling her back.
“You escaped a prison?”
Amaris pressed her hands against his chest, her eyes once again glistening with tears. “Forget I said anything. Let me go back to my room.”
“Tell me.” Theo’s voice came out in a growl.
She wiggled from his hold and scrambled back, her hands flat against the red brick of the hearth set into the wall. She slid along it, her hands pressed against the masonry as her breaths grew shallow.
“Please,” she cried, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Forget it, please.”
“Does he hurt you?”
She pulled her satchel to her chest, her eyes darting toward the hall. “Leave Derek out of this.”
“I’m not stupid, Amaris,” Theo snipped. “Does he hit you?”
“You don’t know anything about me or my life!”
She darted out of the kitchen, but Theo couldn’t find the ability to run after her. He crumpled to the floor, his legs giving out. His cheek pressed into the cupboard as he leaned against it to keep his bearings. He choked out a breath, digging his nails into his palms.
What is wrong with me?He was an animal, the monster slipping from where it was buried inside him. The war was over. There wasn’t a threat. He was no better than Bennet or his father demanding that information from her.
His body trembled. His sanity further slipped through his fingers, unraveling the stitch in his mind. The man he used to be was only a hollow shell, and he didn’t think anything left in the realm existed to mend what had been ripped from him.
Chapter 23
