Page 53 of Master of Storms
You. You hurt me.
But admitting that meant admitting there’d been something there, between them.
She tore her hand from his grasp.
“Knowledgeispower, Solveig, and you don’t want anyone to know you, because if they don’t know you, then they can’t hurt you.”
“Why don’t we turn the tables? I’ve seen you with your family and your brother. There’s resentment between the two of you, I’m sure of it. I’ve seen you with your court. You run, Marduk. The moment things grow complicated, you start looking toward the horizon. Escape isyourshield, and if you don’t let anyone close to you, then you don’t have to suffer. So who hurtyou?”
Lightning flashed in his eyes. Irritation. But he forced his jaw to work. “You first.”
“I owe you nothing.”
“Why does everything between us have to be such a fucking fight?”
“Because that’s what we do.”
“It doesn’t always have to be this way.” The muscle in his jaw worked. “I’m trying to—”
“What?” She drove the fork into the table. “What are you trying to do?” Leaning closer, she hissed in his ear. “Because this isn’treal.”
“You’re right. It isn’t real.” Cutting her a hard look, he pushed to his feet. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Excuse me.”
“Run,Marduk,” she called softly.
The glare he threw over his shoulder almost incinerated her. “Attack, Solveig. Your weakness is showing.”
And then he was gone, leaving her with a sour taste in her mouth.
She wasn’t always on her guard. She didn’t always attack first. He’d earned it. To let him under her guard once had been a mistake, and she’d paid for it. To let him in again would be akin to slitting her own throat.
Wouldn’t it?
There was a little hole in her chest that couldn’t be filled. She sat alone, and while she’d always appreciated her own company, she couldn’t help being aware of the lack ofhis.
It was his energy—the way he always filled a space.
It had to be.
Marduk swiftly joined Draco’s brother. A swift laugh, a clap on the back, and he was suddenly friends with Rune. She could almost see the wariness melt off theZilitturoyal as Marduk began speaking in animated tones, waving his hands as if he was describing some sort of adventure he’d had.
“Goddess, I need some air.” She slipped from the table, knowing that despite his newfound friends, he stared after her.
He wasn’t the only one who watched her go.
Draco murmured something to Árdís and then caught her eye. He didn’t follow her, but he would at some stage. She knew he would.
And she wanted none of it.
* * *
The gardens were gorgeous,and Solveig took refuge in them, trying to breathe through the fury she could finally unleash.
She’d thought she could do this—swallow down all her pain and rage and play politics.
But being here—seeing the echo of Fornax in Draco’s face—was like having all her old scars torn open. And with Marduk pushing and pushing at her, as if he sought to… what? Undo her?
It would take a handful of days to find the key, she reminded herself. A week at most. What was a week?
