Page 14 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

“But… I’ve never seen her like this. She—she’s so angry.”

It was quiet for a beat, and Lessia didn’t dare move a muscle as she drew air into her lungs not to allow her heart rate to increase.

“Are you surprised?” Merrick asked, his tone so cold she held back a shiver.

“No, but… I’ve never seen her react like that when she’s reminded of those years. Sh-she usually breaks down,” Ardow whispered.

Lessia tensed, but Merrick’s low voice drowned out the memories threatening to surface.

“It’s a good thing. She’s fighting back. Sheisangry. And that anger is what’s keeping her going. She’s been through so much in her young life, and she’s repressed all the resulting emotions for so long… But she can’t anymore, not with all the hurt and disappointment. So she focuses on the easiest one to manage—rage.”

“Sh-she only feels rage?” Ardow breathed.

“For now,” Merrick responded quietly. “She might only be half-Fae, but our emotions are much stronger than human ones. With everything that happened in the past week, I’m surprised she’s even left the cot. I’ve seen full Fae break over less.”

Lessia could hear Ardow shift, and she imagined how his face scrunched up the way it did when he was scared, and an unfamiliar feeling of irritation crept over her skin.

“But she’ll be back to normal soon?”

Merrick moved again, and she could feel his eyes on her, the warmth of his gaze traveling down her face as he sighed. “Time will tell. For now, I suggest you stop riling her up, or you might find yourself in a dangerous situation. I certainly won’t stop her if it comes to that.”

A low muttering bounced between the walls before Ardow broke the silence again. “Can… can we help her get better?”

Lessia stopped herself from swallowing when Merrick tensed, feeling as if every beat of her heart slammed against her chest.

“She doesn’t needto get better,” he snarled softly. “If she decides to break apart this whole ship to deal with what happened, I’ll help her. If she wants to kick your lying ass into the depths of the sea, I’ll take your legs. If she decides to rip the world to shreds for what it’s done to her, I’ll cheer her on. And if you were a true friend… you would as well.”

ChapterFour

She’d barely gotten any sleep last night, not even when Ardow and Merrick quieted and the former began snoring softly.

She’d been awake for hours, trying to understand Merrick’s words.

Was she truly that angry?

The constant red cast clouding her vision certainly implied so.

Too many emotions swirled inside her… and none of them were good.

Bleary eyed, she dragged herself off the cot when the captain entered and put the usual unappetizing bowls on the rattling table.

He informed them that they were getting close to the eastern border of Havlands, that they’d recently passed Korina’s waters and would be near Fae territory within a day or so.

Merrick followed him up to the helm to give him instructions for where they needed to go to get to wherever Raine lived.

Her eyes lingered on his back as he stalked up the stairs, and she wondered if her own shoulders looked as taut as his did, if her gait was as high strung.

Avoiding Venko’s and Ardow’s gazes, she slumped down onto a chair and lifted the bowl to drink directly from it.

Perhaps if she ate quickly enough, it wouldn’t taste as foul.

“How are you feeling?” Ardow asked hesitantly.

Setting down the bowl, Lessia lifted her eyes and wiped at a stray drop that escaped her mouth.

Ardow’s eyes were guarded as he studied her, and another urge to punch him crossed her mind.

But she pushed it down.

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