Page 61 of She Who Was Once the Sea

"Ordina—"

"Promise me."

Her grip on my wrist grew tighter until I thought it might break between her fingers. This time, I couldn’t stop myself from crying out.

It was just a small cry, no more than a whimper, but it was enough. From across the room, there came the sound of disrupted breathing, then shuffling, and then Garrett was on his feet and moving towards us, the thin blanket from the bed wrapped around his hips.

"What is this?" he demanded, looking from my sister’s hand to my pain-stricken face. He snarled, exposing his teeth. "Let her go."

Ordina stared at him boredly at first.

Then she noticed his elongated canines, and her mouth fell open.

"Marella," she whispered, looking between him and me with unbridled shock written across her face. "What did you do?" Again, her grip tightened on my wrist, and I nearly doubled over.

"It was an accident," I gasped. "Ordina, please let me go."

In a flash, Garrett darted across the room to where his clothes lay discarded on the floor. He dug through the folds until his fingers wrapped around something.

When he straightened, he was holding the Fratelli knife. And it was leveled at my sister.

"I said," he growled, low and threatening. "Let her go."

This time, when Ordina looked between the two of us, her expression was sad, almost remorseful. She dropped my wrist, and I cradled it against my chest.

"You think I would hurt my sister, Fratello?" She glared at the knife in his hand.

"Garrett," I whispered. "Put it away."

His eyes cut between me and my sister, but he didn’t lower the knife. "Walk away." I didn’t miss the tremor in his voice.

Neither did Ordina. She smirked. "Are you going to make me?"

"Ordina." I put myself between them, my back to Garrett, holding my hands up to stop my sister. "Please. Leave." I glanced over my shoulder, smiling at him reassuringly before turning back to her. "I’ve got this," I said quietly, so only she could hear. "Trust me."

Her eyes narrowed. "When you’ve damned everyone in your orbit, dear sister," she whispered, "I hope you can live with the consequences. When he learns that you bargained with his freedom, do you think he’ll remain loyal to you?"

It was my turn to gape. My mouth fell open, and I spun to face Garrett as Ordina stalked across the room towards the exit.

"I’ll see you in the piazza," she snapped as she slipped outside, slamming the door behind her.

The sound echoed through the small apartment. In the dark, I couldn’t make out Garrett’s face. But he stood with his hand weakly extended as if he were frozen in place.

After several seconds, I couldn’t take the silence anymore.

"Garrett—" I took a step towards him, then flinched as he took a reflexive step back.

He turned the knife on me. "What was she talking about?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but as had happened each time I’d tried to speak of the bargain, no sound escaped my throat. My tongue suddenly felt heavy, and the sound garbled. I slammed my fist against the wall and screamed in frustration.

"I… can’t tell you," I finally managed to say, desperately trying to convey how badly I wanted to do just that. "It’s complicated."

His blue eyes were cold as they leveled me. "She said you bargained with my freedom." His voice shook. "What does that mean?"

"I can’t tell you," I repeated, reaching out a hand towards him. He lifted the knife. Not by much. But he kept it angled in my direction. "Please. I need you to trust me."

"I did." His voice dripped with more venom than I would have thought him capable of. But there was something there, behind the cruelty, and its sharpness cut worse than a knife. "I did trust you." Tears filled my eyes as every word landed like a blow. "And now I find out you've been conspiring with one of your monster sisters? Using me as a bargaining chip?"