“Well, I don’t care what you think,” I retorted, turning my attention back to the lake.
“Snappy.”
I ignored him, and the lick of indignation. I should have turned away the moment I’d spotted his feet sticking out from behind the tree.
“Humans are all the same,” he drawled on. Apparently, talking wasn’t such a chore when it involved assaulting me with an endless stream of snide comments. “They only consider what they can gain from us. The others have told you you’re special, have they not? Not at all like every other desperate mortal woman to crawl through that gate. But they’re lying. You’re no different, no better.”
“I didn’t choose to come here, you know.”
“Perhaps, but you certainly didn’t put up a fight when Sage promised you immortality as a reward for doing the right thing, did you?”
“I begged and begged to go home,” I countered, but he was right.
I hadn’t put up much of a fight. Had I made any real attempts to get home? No. Was it really because I’d wanted to help, or because of the shiny promise of immortality? The worst part was, I could barely remember. Those days seemed to belong to another life already, another person. I wasn’t sure who I was anymore. Surely not the same woman who had slipped on a wet stone and ruined her entire life.
“Then you would have left us to rot in those tombs?”
God, I couldn’t win with him, could I? Whatever I did, whatever I thought, it was wrong.
A pair of pale feet appeared silently on the pebbles beside me. “Isn’t that so?”
To my immense surprise, he bent his knees and sank into a crouch, fixing me with his calculating gaze, so similar to his brother’s, but different somehow. I couldn’t put my finger on it yet. It was like a forgotten word, hovering on the edges of my brain. Infuriating. That wasn’t the answer, but it would do until I figured it out. Yes, the way he looked at me was infuriating. He hadn’t looked in my direction this long since meeting me. I turned away, focusing my attention on the ripples.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I really don’t. What does it matter? You’re awake now.”
He rose gracefully to his feet, and when he spoke, his voice was cold. “Who says I want to be?”
It took a long moment for his words to register. When they finally slogged into my brain, I whipped my head around, my mouth falling open to release a tangled spill of words that never came.
He’d gone.
24The Horrors Persist
Ishould probably move.
My hair drifted, floating around my shoulders in the now lukewarm water of the second bath I’d taken that night. God knew what time it was. I’d been exhausted for long enough that I could no longer trust my body’s internal clock, but my many candles had burnt low, and the window beside the crystal tub was velvet black, the moon glowing like a fat pearl beyond. The combined candle and moonlight was enough to drive any traces of darkness from the cavernous bathroom, leaving no shadowy corners for shades. Not that I cared. Let them take me. Much use I’d be. When it came down to it, when it really mattered, I was useless. Besides, I’d probably have a better chance of escaping Maelgwyn than I did the witches.
Tonight should have been a triumph. I should have been giddy with relief and excitement, and I should have fallen into bed with a groan, glad my days of camping were well and truly over and anticipating my imminent return home. I shouldn’t have taken two baths, the first to scrub myself raw, ridding my skin of any trace of Hyacinth’s death, the second to soak away my shame. My clothes shouldn’t be dumped in a grimy, blood-stained pile in the corner of the bathroom. My friend shouldn’t be sobbing into her pillow, somewhere in the depths of the castle.
Everything was wrong.
I had failed.
I sank beneath the surface, blowing out a sigh in a stream of bubbles. The soft beat of power coming from the huge crystal bowl seemed stronger under here, thrumming through the water in a peaceful, barely discernible pulse. My eyes grew heavy, stinging slightly in the soapy water. I should get out. Go to bed. If not sleep, I needed rest, at least.
Before I could change my mind, I emerged from the water with a slosh and dried myself off with a fluffy towel. I was squeezing my hair when I heard a muffled knock coming from the corridor.
Pansy.
Had she come to talk? To cry? I threw on my robe and dashed into the bedroom and to the door, wrenching it open.
Anwir lurked in the hall, looking sheepishly back at me.
Oh. A warm flush spread over my scandalously attired body. I thought of my thick, fluffy dressing gown at home. Not as stylish, but certainly less revealing than the thin, elegant material I’d haphazardly draped myself in.
“I apologise for disturbing you at this hour.” Anwir’s voice was hushed and soft. A night-time voice, something a secret lover might use upon scaling the trellis and climbing through the window. “I’d hoped we might talk.”
Did I want to talk? No, not after his earlier request. I wanted him and the witches as far away from me as possible, on the other side of a rift, in fact. Maybe he’d come to apologise. Maybe he’d try to convince me that he’d make a perfect husband. I wasn’t willing to be swayed, but if he wanted to try, if he wanted to show me exactly what kind of husband he could be… It had been a while since I’d been with a man. Anwir might be exactly the kind of relief I needed. A good, angry fuck might send me to sleep when all else failed. I wasn’t convinced I could wrangle my tongue into forming words, but I nodded, stepping back to let him in.
He surveyed the dark room.
“I was just getting out of the bath,” I said needlessly, considering my wet hair and floral scent, not to mention my convenient state of undress. “Sit down.”
The prince sank into a chair before the empty grate. “Thank you. This can wait until tomorrow, if you’re tired?”
“It’s fine.” And besides, I’d never sleep a wink after such a statement, even at the best of times. I’d spend the night chewing over every possible scenario, anything and everything he might have to say. I plonked down into the chair opposite, arranging my robe carefully over my thighs. “What did you want to talk about?”
“You. Us.” He swallowed, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees. The glow of the candles brought out the golden tones in his eyes, making them almost yellow. “I wanted to explain myself.”
I doubted I’d hear a single word he said when he had the audacity to look so sickeningly perfect, but I nodded. An apology was the least I would accept before, well… anything else. “Okay. Explain.”
“I like you, Aliza. I like you a lot.”
Well, that was a promising start. I shifted in my chair, hyper aware of just how naked I was beneath my robe.
“And yes, I assumed you’d want to marry me. After you woke me, the witches explained what had happened since my uncle’s betrayal. How the humans flocked to break the curse because of the promise of a marriage. Becoming my queen. I assumed you’d come for the same reason. I know now I was wrong.”
“Yes,” I said, trying to sound firm despite the hoarseness of my voice. “You were. I came here by mistake. I didn’t even know this place existed. I didn’t believe in... Creatures. Fairies and witches and fae and v—” I stopped short, remembering how Jacques had avoided contact with other species. “It was just an accident, and everything I’ve done has been so I can get home to my family.”
