Page 62 of Bound By Roses

“And I lied to protect you.”

She rushes me and I side-step instead of clashing with her. She’s growing tired, but we’re not anywhere near done yet. “That’s not the same thing.”

“You know it is,” I say, desperate for her to hear me. “I love you and I know you love me, but clearly we’re having an issue with trust. I know I fucked up by keeping that from you, and I was ready to grovel until I realized that I can’t trust you, either.”

“That’s not fair. If you hadn’t lied to me about putting your safety first, I wouldn’t have—”

Sparks fly as our blades meet with enough force to cut her off. “You wouldn’t have taken away the freedom I only have because of you in the first place? What do you want from me, Stabby? I promised I would take better care of myself, and I have. After every injury, I get stitched up. Every fight, and my only thought, is making sure I survive it.For you.”

“It’s not enough. The wraiths will kill you if they see you.”

Oh, so suddenly she’s an expert? “And Jade wants to kill you, but that didn’t stop you from accepting his help last night.”

She lets out an exasperated roar. “Are we back to this? I thought you got over your jealousy.”

“I’m not fucking jealous, Abby. I’m furious that you gave that witch a finger without knowing why that was her price. ‘The finger of a Chosen is a powerful artifact.’ What if she uses that to control you? Tokillyou? How do we know her draining whatever magic she can from that finger doesn’t allow her to take from yours as well?”

She stops her impending attack mid-swing and lets the tip of her sword drop into the dirt. “I didn’t think about that.”

“No, you didn’t think. And you didn’t listen to me when I tried to object. You used your power to force Ellis and Seamus to turn against me so you could go ahead and make a choice that impacts our future. Without me. You can be mad at me for keeping a secret, but I wouldn’t have taken that deal.”

She shakes her head. “You would have. If you felt it was the only way to save me, you would have. So, are we done here?”

She wants this to be over, but we’re only just getting to the point. “No, we’re not.” I make it clear that I’m attacking, so she has enough time to get her blade back up. When I strike, it’s with enough force that it sends her stumbling backwards.

By the time she spins back around, I’ve already dropped to my knees.

“What are you doing?” She sounds more annoyed now, which is fair. My sword is laying in the dirt beside me, so she lets hers drop to the ground, no doubt thankful for the reprieve to her hand.

“I told you I wasn’t finished. I have to show you something.”

She takes a cautious step forward, and then another, and another. She’s not afraid of me, but I haven’t exactly been warm and friendly this morning. When she’s close enough, I open my hand and lay it out flat so she can see the item sitting atop my palm.

“You really thinknowis the time for this?” Her reaction is about what I’d expected, but she has the wrong idea.

I examine the ring and the detail that the metal worker managed to carve into it. My request was far from easy, but he’d done well. “I’m not proposing. I told you I wouldn’t until this was over.”

“Then why are you on your knees with a ring in your hand?”

“Because I need to beg your forgiveness, and I couldn’t do that without you knowing why.” I run my free hand through my hair as if that’ll somehow make this easier. “You shouldn’t have taken that deal, but it was my fault that it was offered. The Spider only wanted your finger because she somehow knew I’ve been carrying this around in my pockets for weeks.”

Abby looks from the ring to her left hand and then realization colours her cheeks. She’s finally seeing what I’d seen from the moment that knife sliced through flesh and carved throughbone. The Spider could have taken any finger, but she took the one that would one day wear the ring I’d had made for it.

When she doesn’t speak, I climb to my feet and take a weary step towards her. “Like I said, I’m not proposing. But that doesn’t change the fact that you lost a finger because of me. If not for this, she probably would have taken the jewels Lia gave us.”

“We don’t know that.” Her words are so low that without my enhanced hearing, I may have missed them.

“I do. She was taunting me in that cave. It was just a game to her, and I was the one that gave her all the pieces she needed to play it.”

I move to tuck the ring back into my pocket, but her words stop me. “Can I see it?”

“Of course. Just be careful.” I lay the ring gently in her palm and allow her to take in the design I’d requested. The metal worker did a surprisingly good job, especially considering the fact that jewelry has become less of a priority in Marein since the war. Sirens can’t even wear rings, so I’d worried this design was too complex, but he’d pulled it off better than I expected.

“Why? Will it bite me?” she asks as she stares down at the silver wolf's head. A yellow stone sits in each of the wolf’s eyes. It doesn’t exactly match my eye colour, but it’s as close as I could find.

“Maybe,” I laugh softly to myself as I take the ring back from her. “Look.” I press my thumb down on the ears, pulling them back. As I do, the wolf’s jaws open to reveal a hidden point sharp enough to pierce skin.

She snatches the ring back from me. “Is that what I think it is?”

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