Page 62 of Wings of Lies
“Where am I?” I rasped, throat dry.
He glared at my hidden ribs. His cloak appeared fresh compared to the splattered green gunk of his leathers. The candlelight flickered across the sculpted muscle of his tensing arms. Blushing, I clamped down on my cheeks and turned my face away.
“We brought you to a healer named Hana.” He waited for that to sink in and continued. “You’ve been unconscious for two days. We didn’t think you were going to make it at first. But Hana’s one of the best healers around. She worked tirelessly on you, and you’re undermining all the effort we put into saving your damned life!” he spat, drilling holes into my partially unwrapped sides.
I could hear the respect he had for her in his voice. Who knew he respected anyone, as big of an asshole as he was.
“What are you staring at? Rewrap your damned wounds!”
His demanding, arrogant tone grated on me. Perhaps I should unwrap the rest of my ribs and stuff the bloody cloth into his mouth.
Unfortunately, I listened to his forceful words, but not without taking my unnamed frustration out on him. “Have you ever thought about a gag?”
Nonplussed, his lips pressed into a thin line as he raised a skeptical brow.
Oh, he wasn’t going to like this. I held back my anticipatory smile. “You know, to keep the condescending shit from spilling out of your mouth.”
His eyes darkened. I threw him one of those smug smirks he’d given me the last few days. It dropped when he didn’t react. I guess the smirk didn’t affect him like it did me.
“Once Hana gives the go-ahead, we’ll be back on our way to give you to our queen,” he said point-blank.
“Your queen, as in your mother?”
Something strange flashed through his eyes—like confusion mixed with horror. But it tightened his face for less than a second before a soft red light flashed beneath his chin, and his cold mask eradicated the emotions.
What was that light?
Unable to sit in silence as he scrutinized me, I snarked, “You’re finally giving me answers?”
“Figured I’d gift you a small slice for not dying on us.”
I huffed. “Oh, right. Because dealing with my dead carcass would be a hindrance.”
“You’re more important to her alive than dead. For—” He stopped himself.
Did he really think I was that stupid?
“For now? Your queen, mother, whoever the hell she is,” I was getting worked up. “Wants me alive, for now.”
He didn’t confirm or deny, but his silence answered for him.
My head dropped back against the headboard, defeated and tired.
The prince walked into the room, white knuckling the hilt of his sword. “Maybe you should’ve listened to me,” he barked, branding me with his glare and his hot, apple-scented breath. Inching away wasn’t an option, so I had to live in his angry proximity.
“This again?” The fabric in my hands scrunched in my fists. “Why the hell would I listen to you?” I scoffed. “You just admitted that my life was only as valuable as whatever I could provide to yourwretched queen.”My head thrust forward in cadence to the last two words, ignoring the tug on my stitches, just in case he didn’t hear the vehemence in my tone.
His grip tightened on his sword as the muscle in his jaw pulsed. He didn’t like me insulting his sovereign, but too bad.
“I’m not going to your vile queen. I want nothing to do with you and your pack of whatever Cacus and Bael are.” The throbbing in my side intensified, forcing me to sit back with a grimace. It was proof that my words were more bark than bite. If I couldn’t even sit up without support, there was no way I was getting away from them.
Quietly, he stared, watching me with an intensity that made me squirm. The blues of his eyes forced me to hold my ground even though I wanted to look down.
“Demons.” He voiced at last.
“What?”
Crossing his arms, he tilted his head to the side. “Cacus and Bael are Cambion demons. They explode on the brink of death, killing anyone near them.” There was another stilted pause as he waited for my reaction.
