That night in my guest room, she implied that I had feelings for her.
Her arrogance knows no bounds.
“I can’t stand you,” I say between clenched teeth.
“Likewise,” Haven replies. “So, let’s be glad that fate hasn’t paired us together.”
“I’m ecstatic,” I bite out.
“I’m jubilant.”
“I am euphoric.”
I can’t believe I am wasting my precious minutes playing this silly game and indulging her. Maybe the shallow cut she left me with is infected. Maybe I am stuck in a feverish hallucination.
“I am elated,” she finishes. “I can do this all day.”
“Me too.”
I’m the first to retreat. She’s too close for comfort. I can count every damn lash on her eyes. Even her sweat smells sweet to me. There must be something wrong with me.
“Leave me alone, Vale,” she says, her voice slightly shaky. “I don’t enjoy this repertoire. And your intimidation tactics and unending accusations are growing stale. If you wish to speak with me, we will do so in public where there are witnesses.”
“I’m the one who should be asking for witnesses, not you,” I say. “In case you forgot, the last time we were alone, you shot me.”
Her mouth twitches. She finds it funny.
“You deserved it.”
“There is nothing between Clover and me,” I explain. “There never has been.”
“It didn’t seem that way,” Haven says, with narrowed eyes. “She looks at you like you put the stars in the sky.”
“How do I look at her?” I ask.
Haven hesitates.
“You don’t,” she says reluctantly.
“Exactly,” I say. “I cannot control how women look at me, but I can control how I react. I am loyal, Warrick. Always have been, always will be.”
Haven glances down at the floor before she looks up at me under her lashes. The words come out so fast that it takes me a second to realize what she said.
“I’m sorry for shooting you,” she mumbles. “I don’t think my sister would approve of my methods.”
I can’t believe she apologized. She is the last person whom I’d ever expect to show remorse. Haven is bold and reckless and perhaps a little bit insane. She doesn’t fear me or any form of authority. She doesn’t bend her neck or make herself smaller to fit in. It’s the reason so many of her peers despise her. She doesn’t behave the way a Common would. She doesn’t fit her position in society.
She is unlikable and utterly indifferent to public opinion. It is a rather refreshing trait to discover in a world where most people aim to blindly serve. Sometimes it frightens me, just how much control my father has over the people. And how Haven would probably not falter in his presence.
“Get some rest,” I say. “We have a mission tomorrow.”
Her eyes widen in excitement.
“Easy,” I say, before she gets ahead of herself. “You’ll be my backup. One foot out of line and that’ll be your last mission until training ends, understood?”
Haven nods. “Got it.”
She offers me her hand to shake, seemingly agreeable, all of a sudden, as if I will rescind my offer at the merest hint of disobedience. Her eyes glitter like emeralds, and my mouth softens as I clasp her hand. Her palm is small and delicate. It sinks into mine as if it belongs.
