When he looked up, I straightened, pulling my hands away from my mouth, unconsciously clenching them into fists at my sides.
I didn’t know what to say.
“To be fair,” he added in a bitter tone, “weareunderground. It’s not as if I’d have much use for them here.”
I snorted softly.
He noticed.
When I didn’t say anything else, he raised an eyebrow, waiting. I chewed on my lip. Normally, I’d keep my thoughts to myself, but he’d been vulnerable with me. I should try to do the same. I dropped my gaze as I whispered, “I wouldn’t be okay with losing a foot just because I sat down.”
At first, I thought I’d offended him. But he sighed heavily and said, “You’re right.”
That gave me the courage to continue. “I can’t believe your dad would send you here against your will—”
“It wasn’t.”
I cut off. “What?”
“It was not against my will,” Soren repeated in a low tone. He stared at the floor as he leaned against the desk. “I agreed to the deal. Though,” he added softly, “I didn’t expect Caius to make it quite so painful. That was my own fault.”
“Excuse me?” I scoffed. “None of that is your fault. What a stupid thing to say.”
He blinked at my outburst.
But I wasn’t done. All the frustration and anger I’d built up over the last few days—the last couple weeks, really—exploded at the idea of himchoosingthis, like he deserved it. “Why would you agree to do something like that?”
“I always do as my father asks.”
“Butwhy?” I demanded again, gripping the blanket beneath me the way I wanted to grab and shake him.
He shifted uncomfortably. “If I don’t, my father has threatened to disown me and remove me from the family completely.”
I stared at him. What was his family like that he’d literally cut off a part of himself for them? They couldn’t be loving, if his own dad let it happen. “You don’t deserve that.”
“You’ve only just met me, Brynn.” His lips turned up on one side in an attempt to smile.
“Doesn’t matter.” I crossed my arms. “No onedeserves to be treated that way, first of all. But second, I know you well enough.”
He scoffed. “If I remember correctly, you seemed to think I was fairly immoral quite recently. You don’t need to lie to me.”
I deflated.
“I’m not lying,” I whispered, and unreadable emotions flashed across his downturned face. “I can see how you might think that, because of our deals, but that’s not who I am.”
Grunting, he didn’t look up, unconvinced.
“You said yourself that I’m a terrible liar. Remember?” I reminded him, standing. I ignored my aching head now as I stepped closer, trying to get him to look up.
A tiny curve of his lips encouraged me to keep going.
“Soren...”
Those pale blue eyes lifted to mine.
I pressed my lips together, searching for the right words. “Ididassume you were tricking me, and stealing humans, and that you were generally the worst...”
“I don’t love the direction you’re—”
