Legs tossed over the side of the mattress, he rose, his back muscles flexing with his movement. “It means that we have no leverage anymore. If anything, Franlow has power over us. Sure, he needs our knowledge to keep his kingdom safe, but they don't need us as much as we need them. They can still help themselves without helping us. Now he just has information that he can use against us if he needed to.”
I swallowed a mouthful of spit. “But, he still agreed to work with us. He even said that the less he knew, the better.”
“Well we don’t really have a choice but to take his word for it, now do we?” Sebastian snapped with a sharp turn of his neck, allowing his glacial eyes to ice me out.
My face formed a scowl of all scowls. “I wasn’t the one who let it slip, so if you're going to give anyone an attitude, it should be Sawyer.”
“I would, but you told me to cut him some slack. Remember?”
I found my own footing. “What’s your problem?”
His eyes widened in blatant shock. “You really don’t see the problem here?”
“Of course I see the problem! I’m not an idiot. I just don’t know what you expect me to do about it?”
He huffed a breath through his nose, the air shooting out like smoke. I could tell he was biting his tongue, and though I should have done the same, I couldn’t.
“What’s done is done. If I could turn the clock back, I’d compel Sawyer to keep his mouth shut, but unfortunately I wasn't granted the power of time,” I shot into the silence.
Head hung, Sebastian’s neck shook. “I work so hard to try and protect you, just for it to be undone like it never mattered.”
“It was not undone. It’s just one more person who knows what the world is bound to find out anyway,” I countered, my voice softening. “Let me ask again, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to talk to Franlow again? Compel him to keep his mouth shut?”
“No.” Sebastian’s eyes pinned mine, his pout deadly. “I suppose there is nothing that can be done except pray to the gods that this doesn’t bite us in the ass.”
“Okay, great. Now that we're on the same page, could you show me that you still know how to smile?” I took a chance with the sarcasm, but I had hardly seen the man smile in what felt like a week.
“I’ll smile when there's something to smile about. Currently, the only things in my life worth any sort of facial expression, are things that scare me or piss me off,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his bare chest.
A frown found its way to my own face. “Which category do I fall under?”
Did I scare him? I wouldn't blame him if I did—not with the power I carried. And I already knew that I pissed him off, so?—
“That’s not what I meant.”
The only sound in our room was the tapping of his foot on the floorboards. I broke the stillness, moving to the lamp by my bedside and flicking it off before crawling under the covers.
Chapter
Forty-Seven
In the glare of the morning sun through our rooms windows, I packed all of what I’d brought and within five minutes had made my way to the grand foyer, where I waited with Azain for the rest of our group. He was ready to go, armor on and an overstuffed rucksack on his back. The quiet that swarmed us was almost painful, but I didn’t have the guts to break it.
He did.
“I’m sorry about my sister.” Azain ran a hand through his dark hair. “She can be a real bitch, for lack of a better word.”
“No. That’s the perfect word,” I countered with no hesitation and certainly no regret.
His thin lips broke into a cheesy grin. “I love her, but yeah. Itisthe perfect word.”
Azain just made his way onto myI like you, list.
“Speak of the serpent,” I muttered as Samara approached, her braid of black hair swaying over her shoulder as she strutted straight for us.
“I’m ready to ride,” she chimed, licking her cherry lips. “I want a mare, though. Last time I took a stallion out, he wouldn’t stop trying to buck me off.”
“Stallion must have sensed something,” Sawyer quipped when he joined us, the comment pulling a snort from my chest.
