Page 61 of Artemysia
She cuts in gently. “No one knows for sure, or if that’s even possible. And maybe it makes some sense. It’s why you’re so fast and naturally skilled.”
Naturally skilled at killing, she means, but she doesn’t say it.
I don’t believe her.
My hands want to take her by the shoulders and shake her, but they remain clenched at my sides, my nails digging into my palms. “You’re just accepting this? Even I have trouble accepting it. What if…what if I become like them?” I can’t keep my voice steady at this terrifying thought.
My deepest fear, my darkest nightmare.
The way Delphine looks at me hasn’t changed at all. She can’t be that good at hiding revulsion or shock. There’s no look of disgust, like I see in the eyes of the colonels—it’s why they leave a wide berth around me. It’s why King Galke makes a show of power and courage by sitting next to me. It’s not that I’m held in high esteem. It’s to prove a damn point, to remind us all that he is in control.
“You’re not like them at all. AndItrust you.” She angles her head to catch my baffled gaze. “I trust my team. You’ve been nothing but human and I don’t think a few scars should change that.”
I narrow my eyes, wary of pity. “It’s fine if it bothers you. It bothers me. I should have told you earlier. It’s like a deep, dirty secret that I carry on my back. But I wanted you to know. No lies.”
She scrutinizes me with her arms folded across her chest, pressing her breasts up. I look down at my bare, damp feet. At least they look human. No long claws.
“Do you need an inspirational quote—or a hug—right now?”
Surprised, I spit out a bewildered huff of a laugh. Is she telling me it’s okay by making light of the possibility that I’m not entirely human?
The loathing I feel for myself burns into my very being, but she stomps on the flames.
“I’ll take a hug,” I reply gruffly.
She tows me by my waist into an embrace and places her warm cheek on my shoulder. She uses her sleeve to dab off the water droplets running down the dusting of hair on my chest, then absently scratches the stubble on my chin and throat.
It sends shivers down my spine.
Her voice drops. “You know what it means, then?” She’s not trying to be seductive, but her voice lures me in, and I’m praying to the gods above and the demons below that she doesn’t feel that I’m half-hard behind this thin towel.
I’m listening, hanging on to every word that comes out of her rosy lips. “What?”
“You’re one-of-a-kind, which means you’re irreplaceable. Sorry, the hug comes with an inspirational quote.” Her thick lashes flick up at me unapologetically.
I bow my head to kiss her forehead, leaving my lips to linger. Her hair smells like grass, woodsmoke, leather—remnants of our long ride to Limingfrost—and a honeyed scent that reminds me of orange blossoms on a hot summer day by the riverbanks.
All my favorite scents. Tantalizing.
Delphine clutches me tighter before releasing me, peeling away. The space she leaves behind feels empty and cold.
The depth of her beauty is reflected in the certainty of her gaze. She believes in me. Me.Why?“Don’t think good thoughts about me,” I say. “You’re wrong.”
“Quit telling me what to do. I give the orders here.” She grins.
It should be against the law to have a smile that lethal.
“Now where is the toothbrush I tried to spear you with when you startled me?” she says cheerfully.
Reluctantly, I leave as she searches around the tiles.
I’m still reeling after admitting my filthy secret, and I don’t understand her reaction to it.
Not a flinch.
Delphine. I’ve never met anyone like her.
She unearths a man’s deepest fears, prying out a confession from the darkest chasms of his heart, and turns it into his strength.
