Not ours.
“Who was it for? Your dead captain?”
Tears prick my eyes at the mention of Daak. I turn my face away. Can’t bear to look at his murderer for another second.
“Who was it for?” he snarls, leaning forward.
Silence.
The ceiling feels lower with every second. As if the storm outside bears down from above, shrinking the air, crushing me inch by inch.
Lightning flashes, bathing me in its harrowing light.
“Who was it f—”
“For you!” Tears slide down my cheeks. “It was for you!”
For a moment, he just stares at me, unmoving.
“Stop lying.” His voice is deathly calm.
“I swear by the Tides, it was foryou!”
Before my next heartbeat, he’s flown across the carriage, palms braced against the wall, caging my head between them.
“STOP.LYING!” he roars into my face.
The thunder is louder inside this coffin of wood and steel and violence. I gag, bile rising in my throat. My wrists jerk in their chains.
I can’t get out. I can’t get out.
There were nights he held me through storms, voice soft in my ear. Now he is the storm. And he’ll never hold me again.
I cower. I’m not proud of it, but I do. His fury is terrifying.
Heis terrifying.
I don’t know how I’ll escape this. How I’ll escape him.
If I even can.
Panting, he settles back on the bench, scrubbing a violent hand across his mouth.
“You were going to poison everyone at the Festival. And then what? Rule Arbinj and Tundrayn with your captain by your side?” Hetsks. “Shame he’s dead. You could’ve ruled together—how romantic.”
Anger drowns my grief at his flippant mention of Daak’s death.
How fuckingdarehe?
“You seem more upset to have caught me with another man than you are about the fact that I plotted to murder your family and seize the throne,” I hiss, lips curved in a mocking smile. “Poor baby commander. Can’t handle a little heartbreak?”
Another loud rumble of thunder sounds out, but I force myself to meet his gaze without flinching. For the first time since I awoke in chains, I have the upper hand.
His hands clench into tight fists, knuckles flaring white. A low growl echoes through the cramped space. His arms twitch, and for a moment, I think he might strike me.
I wish he would.
But he doesn’t. Just keeps glaring at me.
