Instead, I focused on the meaning of his words.
“Excuse me?” I propped my fisted hands onto my hips and sashayed toward him. “Don’t talk about me like I’m some sort of object you need to tidy away.”
Especially not after you kissed me like you needed the air in my lungs to breathe.
He came to a sudden stop, his eyes alight with fire. “Panos will search for any opportunity to get his hands on you. I refuse to let that happen. I need to put you somewhere safe.”
His voice was firm, and the intensity of his gaze confirmed that he would not back down. Of course, I wasn’t about to let his stubbornness stop me from arguing my case. I didn’t want to tunnel beneath the ground like a mouse. I wanted to fight.
“You really can’t expect me to hide out in my room and watch the battle from my windows,” I said, my voice flat.
“Not in the least. That would be a terrible idea.” He shook his head, growling. “In its true form, this castle is an incredible defensive structure. High walls, thick with ancient stone. We had three walls of protection. Even if an enemy breached the first, they could not breach the second, let alone the third. And, in the very center of it, we had the inner fortress where children could hide during an attack. I’d put you there, but it’s half-destroyed here in Inishfall.”
“I don’t want to hide away like a child,” I shot back. “Let me fight him with you. He almost killed me, after all. If anyone should get a chance to stab him, let it be me.”
He stopped his pacing, chuckled. “You’re a bloodthirsty thing, aren’t you?”
“Not always,” I said, punching a finger right into his chest. “But right now I am. Let me fight.”
“Good. Be as bloodthirsty as you’d like,” he said. “I have a better idea than hiding you away in your room.”
“Really?”
Nodding, he crossed the room and motioned for me to follow. Yuto trailed through the library, leading me toward a shadowy corner packed with shelves where cobwebs weaved through the books. He pushed at the sleek wall where it looked as though a small fire had once raged. Black char swept across it.
The wall shuddered, and then shifted inward. I gasped as an entire door opened up in the wall and revealed a small tunnel leading into darkness. It was barely as tall as I was. When Yuto ducked down inside, he filled the space completely.
“Come,” he said, motioning for me to follow. “It will be safe in here.”
Logic told me to back away. Curiosity egged me onward. I listened to curiosity this time. Who was I kidding? Ialwayslistened to curiosity.
I followed Yuto into darkness. The walls of the tunnel hugged tight, the sleek stone brushing against my arms. A dim light ahead led the way, but that didn’t stop a tremor of panic from shaking my heart. I never liked small spaces.
Soon, the tunnel opened up into a small room. There were a few candles dotted throughout the small space, endlessly burning on golden wicks. More magic, it seemed. I glanced around the space. Cobwebs and dust blanketed everything—from a small cabinet in the corner to a mahogany desk to a red-and-gold carpet that stretched across the floor.
Yuto pushed aside the cobwebs, pulled open a cabinet, and gently extracted a small dagger. The silver hilt was a tiny thing, barely bigger than my palm. Strange etchings ran along the blade. Light danced like magic, beckoning me closer.
“Here. Take this.” Yuto shoved the blade into my hands. “It is a very good dagger. Use it to protect yourself.”
I turned the blade over in my hands, in awe of the swirls etched into the steel. They glimmered beneath the dim light of the candles. “Does this mean you’re going to let me fight beside you?”
“No, Aradia,” he said, edging close. “It’s far too dangerous. You’ll be safe in here.”
“Yuto, no, I—”
“Aradia.” He wrapped a hand around my shoulder, squeezing tight. “You’ll stay in here.”
“It doesn’t seem right,” I whispered, my head tipped back so that I could meet his dark gaze. “All of you out there fighting while I hunker down inside a damn library.”
As scared as I was, I didn’t want someone else to fight my battles for me. I wanted to be there, doing what I could, even if it was scarcely anything. I needed to do more than just hide. I couldn’t be like my father. I was better than that. It was the only thing that kept me from falling apart.
I wouldn’t do to anyone else what he’d done to me.
Run. Hide. Abandon.
“We have been fighters for hundreds of years. Just please, stay in here. If you don’t want to do this for yourself, then do it for me. I won’t be able to concentrate on the battle unless I know you’re safe.”
My heart tripped over itself. Swallowing hard, I timidly reached out and placed my hand on his sculpted chest. “Are we going to talk about what happened a moment ago?”
