My jaw clenches.The bitch. “I paid half upfront.”
“And Smoke made sure to tell Evangeline to tell me to tell you that it’s non-refundable.” He shakes his head as he tosses the envelope back into the room. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“I did it two days ago, when I didn’t know where she was. And I didn’t hire her to kill her,” I say dryly. “I hired her tonotkill her.”
Jace studies me with narrowed eyes. Then he closes them briefly. “Please tell me your plan wasn’t to scare her into coming back to the castle.”
“Of course not.” That wouldn’t have got her to talk to me. “I was going to ‘save’ her.” Then she’d have to talk to me. At the very least, she’d have to say, “Thank you.” She would probably even hug me.
“Fuck, Richard, you’re smart as out, but you’re dumb as shit sometimes. She needs space.”
“She’s had space,” I snap. “It’s been six full days, Jace. I’ve ended sieges in less time.”
“You’re being a bit drastic.”
“Of courseyou’dsay that,” I spit in disgust. “She’s not avoiding you.”
“That’s because I didn’t make her feel inadequate.”
“When the fuck have I ever done that?”
He looks at me dryly. “You stole her crown from her. What do you think she’s thinking?”
I open my mouth, then lock my jaw. My eyes skirt over the darkened city. This used to be my favourite time of day: when the world is asleep. When it seems almost peaceful. Now it seems just as restless as the rest of the time.
“You know that’s not why I did it,” I say softly, my wings flapping quicker behind me.
“That’s exactly why you did it. You compared her to Aurelia and panicked.” He drifts towards me while I stay still, letting him close the distance. “But she didn’t sacrifice herself because she was weak. She did it because she knew you were stronger. You’ve changed this world a lot since she was alive, Dickie. She would’ve been queen if she was born today.” His words are rough and raw, but I can hear the truth within them.
My hand burning, I lift my arm. I can’t see the scar in the dim light of the night. I can’t see the only reminder I have of her. Darting through the tree, I head for the barracks, and this time, Jace doesn’t try to stop me.
Landing in the square, I look at him. He sighs and nods at the building to the south before taking point so I can follow him. The hallways look exactly the same as they did when we trained here – polished and pristine by recruits well punished.
Walking through them at this time of night –when even the night training is done for the day– is making my skin crawl. Echo does not take kindly to any recruits sneaking around. Evangeline, Jace, and I were caught every time we tried, and the punishment was always a snapped neck and a wake up in the latrines. Deirdre and Aurelia were smart enough to stay in bed.
He stops outside of a door and places his hand on its knob. “I really hope you don’t fuck this up even more.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence,” I say dryly.
Shaking his head, he opens it, then turns to leave. “I’ll be outside. If Echo comes, you’re on your own.”
“I am king, you know.”
“Uh huh.”
Ignoring the prickling of my skin, I step into the room. I glance at the two bottom bunks first, but they’re empty. It’s odd that she hasn’t picked one of them. Shaking my head, I tell myself she isn’t training here like I was. She is only hiding out. Of course she’d have the energy to climb into a top bunk at the end of every day.
Seeing her in the first one I look in, I feel a prickle of uncertainty tightening my gut. She looks peaceful here, not like how I last saw her, crying in both anger and pain.
Shifting on my feet, I look at the door.Shit.
Even my own fucking body is against me these days.
“She needs space.”
“She doesn’t want to see you.”
She hasn’t even opened the gifts I sent her yesterday. They sit across from the door, a blatant sign that despite what I want, she does not want the same.
