Page 178 of Grim and Oro
Yes, I think.You disgust me. The fact that I can’t stop thinking about you disgusts me. The fact that I can’t breathe around you disgusts me. The fact that I’ve been following you around for weeks and you don’t know it disgusts me.
The fact that you are my enemy and still you haunt my every waking thought and dream disgusts me.
“You are wasting my time,” I say through gritted teeth, meaning it in more ways than one. “Do we have a deal or not?”
She considers it. Then she says the last thing I expect. “It’s only a deal if I am able to decide a second realm that will remain safe.”
Second realm. Of course. She means Nightshade.Grim. I already suspected it, but the proof makes my skin feel icy again. “Is there oneyou have in mind?” I need to hear her say it. I need to confirm it once and for all.
She shrugs. Tellingly, she doesn’t answer. She just says, “If I’m helping you break the curses, I should at least get to determine one other realm that deserves to be saved. And, since yourequireme, it seems there might be room for negotiation.”
My jaw tenses. Chimes sound through the castle, marking the time. I could leave. I could rescind my offer. I could find someone else to work with. I could get afucking grip. But as frustrating as she is ... I need her to help me find the heart. If the Wildling can help me, I will spend every waking moment with her if I need to.
I will do the one thing I try to avoid. I will lie.
“Fine,” I say, knowing I won’t save Grim, if that’s who she chooses. It isn’t a clear lie, but it certainly isn’t the perfect truth. “So, it’s a deal?”
I watch her shoulders melt in relief—and feel a small inkling of guilt for my partial deception.
“It’s a deal,” she says.
“Good.”
She walks me to the door, lighter on her feet now. She’s practically skipping. More guilt.
“When do we start?” she asks.
“Now.”
“Now?” Her voice has gone panicky again. Why? Was she hoping to fill Grimshaw in on our agreement? Was she going to seek him out tonight? For some reason, the idea of that disgusts me more than anything.
My gaze narrows. “Is that a problem?”
She glares back at me, blazing green. “Well, I did have plans tosleep.” Lie. It’s bitter on my tongue. She wasn’t going to sleep. What was she going to do? Who was she going to do it with?
I must have let a sliver of emotion show, because she searches my expression and sighs. “Fine. Just let me get dressed.” She reaches for one of her dresses, draped across another chair. “If you could step outside—”
I frown down at the fabric, knowing where we are going and what we will be doing. “You can’t wear that.”
This makes her eyes boil with fury. “Are you telling me how to dress now?”
Infuriating creature. “During our excursions together, no one can know you are ruler of Wildling.”
She tenses. “Why?”
Truths are often hurtful. I tell them anyway. “Lightlark doesn’t like you.”
She scowls at me. “Excuse me?”
“Some ancient creatures on the island, the ones that still live in the deepest pockets of Lightlark, believe Wildlings abandoned them five hundred years ago. If they sense you, or hear rumors that you are near their land, they will attack. Which would only end in spilled blood and too much attention drawn to our efforts.”
“So, you want me to dress differently.”
It’s not just that. And I have more reasons for my request than I am telling her. I lean closer.
“I can’t sense your abilities, Wildling.” She steps back, her face panicked. “I can tell you’re cloaking them. I just ask that you keep doing that when we’re on the isles.”
I just ask that you stop beguiling me, if you ever started, is what I actually mean.
