That had been a play at naivety.
This was also a game.
One made to hurt.
She wasn’t wearing any shoes now, either, feet snuggled on the thick pelt-carpet.
“Hello,” was all I said as I leaned against the door, waiting for the maelstrom.
She took a sip of wine, watching me over the rim of the glass like she already knew where to strike. Then she licked the bloodred drops from her lips and I had to swallow the sound that crawled up my throat. “Still as fetching as when you left.”
She looked like she was ready to shred me like her cousin had with her wedding dress.
“Thank you,” I said, playing along. Waiting for the first lash.
A corner of her lip curved upward, like her smile held all the secrets in the world. Her long dark hair was fiery and untamed, but she felt like ice.
“You look amazing,” I said.
Damn the gods for creating perfection.
Damn Zandyr’s principles for this entire situation.
And damn myself for not figuring out a way to make everything better.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said, challenging me.
She looked like a reckoning. Mine.
I kicked myself away from the door, my steps heavy against the stone floor. Her Huntress gaze tracked me to my seat at the other end of the table, like I was her next prey.
I swore I could glean a shimmer of disappointment in her eyes that I wasn’t heading in her direction, but she clenched her jaw and it was gone.
As soon as I sat down, she opened her mouth again, and that sickly-sweet voice scratched against my ears. This wasn’t Allie or The Huntress, and I felt out of my depth. “How was your trip?”
Such a sham of a normal evening.
Acting like the perfect couple when we both knew a sword dangled above our heads.
My head, actually.
“Eventful,”I said. “Yours?”
“Enlightening.”
That single word cracked through the room.
“In what way?” I asked, not knowing which step would bridge this awful, cold chasm between us.
“Oh, you know.” She set the glass down and rolled her wrist. “In the way that I have to fight with myself not to burn everything to the ground.”
The thunder was beginning to rattle.
“Allie.” I sighed. “I’m sorry–”
“Dax sends his apologies for not being able to attend this dinner,” she cut me off, her grin sharpening even more. “I wanted you all to myself. He was quite disappointed.”
And probably in a murderous mood. I’d have to watch my back around him.
