Page 180 of Grim and Oro
I might as well have a sword at her throat, for the way she’s looking at me for implying she jump through the hole, ending nowhere to be seen. Good. We’ll see if she trusts me.
It won’t matter if she is the key to finding the heart, if she won’t work with me. I make to go through, and she grips my elbow. I go still. Her skin—it’s like flames.
“Will something break my fall?”
I barely get the word out. “Obviously.”
“Are you sure?”
She doesn’t trust me. Of course, she doesn’t ... but can she?
I sigh. I know her now. She’s proud. Stubborn. She doesn’t like to appear weak. So I say, “Fear of heights. Fear of falling. Fear of bridges. Should we make a list of your fears, Wildling?”
She glares at me, and that glare—I like it almost as much as her smiles. Because it is a challenge. A duel.
I watch her fear melt into conviction.
“Go ahead, King.”
I hold her gaze as I go through. The drop is quick. I pause just above the water, then land at its edge. And then I wait.
She’ll want to prove me wrong. She’ll want to prove her strength.
Or maybe ... she hates me enough to just stay up there all night. Time ticks by slowly. Minutes pass, and I’m almost convinced she’s gone back to the castle. Then I hear screaming, and she tumbles into the water.
She trusted me.
An ember of hope forms. Maybe we can work together. Maybe my people have a chance.
Not if she drowns.
I reach into the water and pull her onto the stone. “Took you long enough,” I say, conscious of how little time is left before daylight.
Perhaps I should have considered the consequence of testing her in this way, I think, when she pushes me with surprising strength for someone currently coughing water like she’s on the brink of death. She glares at me through the curtain of her hair, looking nothing short of murderous.
Her hands make fists. They pull back, and—
Is she going to try to hit me? Interesting. Just as I suspected. She doesn’t fear me. She doesn’t respect me. She sure as hell doesn’tlikeme.
I easily grip both of her wrists before she can reach me. It seems to anger her even more.
“This was all a test, wasn’t it?” she yells. She’s shivering. “You wanted to see if I could trust you.”
I nearly drop her hands. She’s read me immediately and accurately.
“I knew it.” She fights against my grip, but I don’t budge. Getting punched in the face won’t make a good start to an already tumultuous working situation.
If I expected her to lose the fight, it turns out I’m wrong. She spits at my feet, and—
Too far. Anger grips me like a vise. I glare at her and pull her forward by her wrists. My voice is cold. “Listen closely, Wildling. I don’t care if you like me. But if we’re going to work together, you need to trust me.”
She bares her teeth at me. “How am I supposed to trust you, if you haven’t even told me what you’re looking for?”
Another moment where she makes me lose my train of thought completely.
Because she’s right.
First, about me being untrusting. I’ve learned from an early age that everyone around me is a liar.
