“You won’t really know until you’ve experienced it.”
Heat floods my chest. “Well, maybe we can resolve thatafterwe’ve dealt with whoever’s following us.”
Did I really just commit to that?A spark flares amid my rising panic.
A hint of a smile tugs at the corner of Emlyn’s mouth before he buries it beneath the gravity of the situation. “If we survive.”
“What?!” My flicker of excitement sputters and dies as dread engulfs me in ice. “How many are there?”
“Five. And they’re almost here.” He draws two long white daggers from straps around his legs.
“You better get your sword out.”
Chapter 34
Caeo
Owena has forbidden me from leaving her room.
It makes sense—I’m a wreck. There’s no doubt my mother would take one look at me and realize what happened. That I remember. That I’ll never do anything she wants, ever again.
Except she can just willbend me. Or curse me again, if that’s too much effort.
So I’m lying on Owena’s bed, trying to ignore her as she sits next to me, giggling to herself. Odd behavior, but I just close my eyes and bury my face under the blankets.
Now, she’s tugging them off and straddling my hips.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Shush, this will only take a moment.”
She bounces up and down while moaning loudly.
“What the fuck?” I grab her hips to pull her off me, but she leans against my chest, bringing her mouth to my ear.
“If your land-sense worked, you’d understand—I can’t simply make noises. So either stay quiet or contribute.” She straightens back up and cries out as if I’ve done something to her I most definitely have not.
Yeah… I can’t. So I just lie there, staring at the ceiling until she lets out a final yell and climbs off, lying down beside me. I have a vague idea of what’s going on in her head, but some clarification would be nice.
“What was that about?”
“Keep your voice down unless I tell you otherwise,” she hisses. “I’m getting you the time you need to pull yourself together.” She purses her lips, then sits up. “I need your shirt.”
“What? Why?”
“Just give it to me.”
Whatever.I do, then pull myself back under the covers.
Sometime later, there’s a knock at the door. Owena, wearing only my shirt, pokes her head into the hallway while exchanging words with a servant. Soon, someone knocks again, and Owena brings over a tray of food.
She sits on the bed, placing it between us. “You should eat.”
My shirt hangs loose around her, and her normally perfect curls cascade in messy, tousled clumps. If I’d seen her like this yesterday, I’d have probably gone hard in seconds. Instead, I’m sick to my stomach.
“I’m not hungry.”
Owena narrows her eyes. “Would Ellie want you to give up? Or would she want you to find a way back and break her curse?”
