“My father called it a necessary evil.” I glanced down at our hands cautiously. “But if necessary evil is what it takes to protect a birthright, maybe it should not be in the first place.”
“And what is this birthright?”
“The Nest.” I paused, unwilling to elaborate.
“It sounds like the Creature has finally developed empathy,” she whispered, placing her head on my shoulder as she played with the hem of my sleeve.
“Too much for my own good, I fear.”
“Empathy is a strength, a necessity toknow thy enemy.”
“I don’t know how much longer I can empathize with my father.”
“Are you telling me you abandoned them for me?”
“I abandoned them at least a decade ago, and it was a long time coming. But it should have been sooner.”
“How much sooner?”
“Early enough where, just maybe, I would have been good for you when we met.”
She stared absently. She stopped playing with my sleeve, and her jaw tensed against my shoulder as she rested there, though she did not pull away.
Was it something I said? Did I do something wrong?
If only she were as easy to read as one of those books she fixated on.
“Why aren’t you speaking?”
“I am tired. It has been a long few days,” she whispered.
“Well, rest, we have more traveling tomorrow.” I stood, beginning to untuck the quilt, and gathered the extra blanket.
A wave of vertigo hit me, and my stomach pinched. I leaned against the frame of the bed to steady myself.
Her scent was strong, and it wasn’t from the blood on the bandages. The temperature outside made it easy to hide a scent like that, but now that we were inside, it was hard to ignore the hunger.
“Silas.” Her voice pulled me from my haze.
“Yes?”
“You look pale.”
“That is my complexion, much like yours.”
“No, you’re hungry.”
I raised a brow. “You can tell?”
“Of course,” she replied, like it was common knowledge. “You are an easy read, like a grammar school pamphlet.”
“You say that like it is an insult.”
The bickering brought a smile to her face before she shielded it from me.
I lifted her chin. “Don’t hide from me, you fox.” I smirked. “Let me see.”
“Don’t make this weird.” She stumbled over her words, unsure where to look, struggling to hide her emotions.
