Page 32 of Storm of Desire
Magnus included, itseemed.
Her eyes narrowed. "You're your father's son, Sirius. What's the motto of theZilittuclan again? To take and to hold? My mother's about to name you her heir, and I won't believe you're going to allow someone else the chance to use me to get to that throne. Roar would see this move and swoop in before either of us could blink. So what are you really doinghere?"
"Let me assure you of this truth: I don't want to mate with you. I don't even like you verymuch."
Árdís's heart kicked a little faster. There were ways to twist words—to sculpt them so carefully one had to really follow the twist to see what adrekiwas truly saying. ButI don't want to mate with youleft no margin formistakes.
There has to be atwist.
“You don’t want to be named heir?” she questioned suspiciously. Whether he liked her or not, Sirius wanted the line of succession to be very clear in everyone’smind.
Sirius rubbed at his knuckles, and when he looked up at her, his blue eyes were searing. “I didn’t saythat.”
Therewas thetwist.
If he didn’t want to marry her, and yet he wanted to plant himself in the line ofsuccession....
Árdís scrambled away from him, looking longingly at her sword across the chamber. All it would take would be onedrekiprincess with her throat cut. Thedrekiwhispered through her veins, alarmed by her fear, but the blasted manacle locked her away from the other half of hernature.
Sirius knelt, picking up the knife he'd taken off her. Despite the handsome cast of his features, his expression was cold. "I told you I wasn't going to hurtyou."
"If I recall correctly, the exact words were, 'I don'tintendto hurt you.' There's a world of difference in thatsentence."
He looked up and held the knife out to her, hilt first. "I don't want to hurt you. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want you to listen tome."
Árdís stared at the knife. "Mating or murder. They're the only two ways I can see you getting what youwant."
"There's anotherway."
Another way? She couldn't— And then she realized what he meant. "Exile."
"It seems we're of a mind." Sirius unfolded himself slowly, and reached for her hand with exquisite gentleness. He folded her fingers around the hilt, his expression beseeching. "We both saw what happened in that throne room. Let's pretend I'm correct and you're not really heading for your training session with Master Innick. Let's pretend I know what that ring you wear on your chain represents, and that I saw the look on both you and your mortal lover's faces when I chased you from theinn...."
She pressed a hand to her leather bodice. Fewdrekimoved among mortals. Even fewer paid attention to their customs. "You sawhim?"
"I could smell him all over you. And now you're leaving, and that suits both of us," he said. "Go to him. I don'tcare."
She still couldn't quite fathom it. "You wanted to mate with me eleven years ago. You made that quiteclear."
It was one of the reasons she'd first fled the court, yearning for something more. And she'd found it for nearly three glorious years, until her mother finally tracked herdown.
A slight sideways sweep of his lashes. "Drekichange."
"Give me one good reason to believe you." She stepped closer to him, putting the tip of the knife to his unprotected breast. Sirius glared at her, but he didn't back away, and Árdís tipped her chin up stubbornly. "Because I never promised not to hurtyou. And I find it quite difficult to believe you suddenly changed your mind about wanting to mate with me. I'm not stupid enough to think 'I don't like you' is a strong enoughreason."
"You don't want to mate withme."
"I don't have any good reason to do so," she hissed. "I despise you and mating with you earns me nothing but a bond we'd both hate. My motives aren'topaque."
He lookedaway.
Árdís pressed forward, the tip of the knife finding resistance. Blood welled on his shirt. "You're hidingsomething."
"You're hiding manythings—"
"And I'm not leaving until you tell me what you're hiding. I don't trust you not to immediately turn me over to my mother, or to set my uncle's pack ofdrekidregs upon me. Maybe you don't want to get your hands dirty, but you're content to let them do it for you." She looked into his eyes, determined to call his bluff. "So I'm not leaving until I hear the truth, even if Idohave to mate with you as aconsequence."
Stalemate.
