Page 45 of Quiver of Cobras
Rubus glowered at me but I just smiled in return. ‘I know what your game is, Madrona,’ he said finally.
Uh-oh. ‘Yes?’ I blinked in an attempt at wide-eyed innocence.
‘You’re trying us both out for size. You don’t remember either of us so you’ve spent a bit of time with Morgan and now you’re spending a bit of time with me. When you’ve decided which one of us you like best, you’ll make your choice. You won’t give a shit about the other one.’ He drained his glass and extended his finger to the barman to order another. ‘The trouble is that if I play that game for too long, you’ll end up losing us both. You’re not so desirable that we’ll forgive your every fault.’
‘You forced me to come with you,’ I pointed out.
‘Yes,’ he conceded. ‘But you’ve had plenty of opportunities over the last day or two to leave, should you so wish. In fact, you’ve been doing the opposite. You’ve been putting on quite a show for me.’
Fair point; Rubus was more canny than I’d give him credit for. I considered his words seriously. ‘I’ll say one thing,’ I told him. ‘You’re certainly more intelligent than Morgan.’
Rubus laughed softly. ‘Only because he could never understand what you saw in me. Everything is black and white to him. It would give me more joy than he would ever know if he and I could work together to get back home to Mag Mell but he’s not interested. He won’t make things happen, he’ll wait for someone else to make them happen. I’m proactive, he’s reactive.’ He exhaled. ‘He’s a fool.’ For the briefest second, sadness flickered across his expression.
Something twisted in my stomach. Was I actually feeling sorry for Rubus? I mentally slapped myself. Arsebadger. ‘Did you and I ever fuck?’ I asked.
His eyes flew to mine and he half-choked. ‘You certainly have a way with words, Madrona.’
I bowed. ‘Thank you very much. It’s a serious question though.’
While I wasn’t sure what the truth was, I knew what I expected Rubus to say. He surprised me, however. ‘No,’ he said. ‘We did not. Although I’m sure that Morgan believes otherwise. I certainly gave him enough cause to.’
Huh. I nibbled my bottom lip, waiting until the barman had presented Rubus with his second pint and moved away again. He didn’t go far; I could tell he was still interested enough to try and eavesdrop on us. Rubus did too. He glared at the barman who finally found something to do on the other side of the room.
I twiddled my fingers together. ‘Did I ask Morgan to marry me?’
Rubus snapped his eyes back. ‘Did he tell you that?’
I shook my head. ‘No. It was a different Fey.’
His mouth thinned. ‘It’s true. You even went down one knee.’ He shrugged. ‘Or so I heard.’
‘So why did I do it? Why did I leave him for you?’ I was careful to keep my tone curious rather than censorious.
‘The first time was for the same reason as the second time,’ Rubus answered. He offered a half smile. ‘Because I forced you.’
I drew in a sharp breath and he laughed. ‘Look at you,’ he said. ‘Your little mind is whirring now, isn’t it? What did I do? How terrible was it? How monstrous was I that you dumped your fiancé for me?’ He gestured to my glass. ‘You should drink some more. You’re probably going to need it.’
I did as he suggested. Suddenly, getting drunk seemed like a remarkably good idea.
‘Tell me, Madrona,’ Rubus said, ‘do you think honesty is a good thing? Do you believe in the righteousness of truth?’
‘I guess so.’ I watched him warily. I couldn’t help remembering the banter about honesty that Morgan and I had engaged in. ‘Though I can see when a white lie can be appropriate.’
‘Indeed.’ Rubus nodded. ‘Because all I did to get you to leave Morgan was to promise the truth if you didn’t.’
‘Go on.’ I’d already learned that I was a murderer tonight. How much worse could it get?
Rubus licked his lips in sudden gleeful anticipation. I felt like I was watching a car crash and I should look away. Gasbudlikins, I shouldrunaway. I couldn’t though; I was rooted to the spot. I had to hear what he was going to say.
‘There are only two people in this world,’ he whispered, ‘who know why the borders to other demesnes closed. Actually,’ he amended, ‘now that you have amnesia, there’s only one person.’
Whatever I’d been expecting, it wasn’t that. I blinked, too confused and surprised to work out where he was going with this. From the expression on Rubus’s face, he knew it too.
‘We are all stuck here because of you, Madrona,’ Rubus said. ‘You caused the borders to close. All this,’ he swept an arm back towards the hideout, ‘is your fault. You trapped us here.’
‘Bullshit. There’s no way that’s true.’
Rubus was no longer smiling. ‘I’m not lying.’ He reached into his pocket. ‘In fact, I’ll prove it to you.’
