Page 98 of Crown of Tides and Fury

Their voices were low, but their body language told me they were arguing. Since I assumed the outcome might determine if I lived or died, I held very still, my ears straining, but I couldn’t catch a word.

Griffon glanced my way, then tapped his brother. “She’s awake.”

Archer spit in my direction and headed for the stairwell, his arms already full of burnt-out torches. From one of his hands hung a plastic bag with chunks of something inside…

I looked for my bucket of kitty litter. It sat just inside the gate. The man had been inside my cell without waking me, which meant two things. First, if I was in danger from him, I’d already be dead. And second, he probably hated me more because he had to play pooper scooper for a grown ass woman.

“Just kill me already,” I whispered.

Griffon disappeared into another cell and came out with a wooden chair, which he set in the center of the aisle, then sat down facing me. “No one will harm you while you’re here,” he said, reminding me that his ears, like his eyes, were better than human.

“So you haven’t come to let me out?”

While he shook his head, his eyes never left mine.

“Well, if I’m going to stay another night,” I lifted my torn scrap of mylar, “I’m going to need a replacement. Maybe you could spare two?”

He nodded, completely missing my hint that I was freezing my ass off and I wanted to know how long he was keeping me. I finally had to ask outright. “How long before you give up?”

“Your stay depends upon Wickham and your friends.”

“So what, you’ve sent them a ransom note?”

He watched me closely. “I was hoping there was some link between you, that he’d know how miserable you are and he’d know just where to find you.”

“Some link? You’re joking.”

“He seemed to know just where to find you in the library and must have sensed…”

“That my lips were in distress?” I rolled my eyes. “He didn’t trust me. Just came to check on me. His timing was just…a coincidence.” I turned my face away, not wanting to share that memory with this version of the man I…loved.Damn him.“He thought the same thing about you, that there might be some link between us, before we realized it was just a feather you’d planted on me.”

I gave him a few seconds to deny it. He didn’t.

“You’re both total idiots.” I faced him again. “So…you intended to torture me just to lure him here?”

“You don’t know torture--”

“Don’t I?”

It was his turn to look away. For a while, we just breathed. I would have given just about anything to read his thoughts, but only the weakest thread was left of any connection we’d once had. In the back of my mind, running like a television someone forgot to turn off, was the constant thought that I wanted him with me, no matter what was happening. Kissing, disagreeing, sleeping. I would have jumped at the chance to just sit there and breathe with him, even with a set of bars between us.

And once upon a time, I was sure he’d felt the same.

But now, I had to protect myself. It killed me that I was nothing but bait to him. And every minute we were together was a chance for him to squeeze my heart and make sure all those cracks still bled.

“The sooner you send that ransom note…” I waited for him to look me in the eye. “The sooner you’ll understand that he’s not coming. And the sooner I can get out of here.”

A shiver raced down my spine and he noticed. I laughed it off. “You sure you don’t want to hold me somewhere else? On top of that mountain, maybe? I think it might just be warmer. Besides, you’ve already made your point. I know your sister died here.”

He stood suddenly, shaking his head. “No. It has to be here. He has to comehere.”

He bit his lips together and gripped the back of his chair for a long minute. I imagined I could hear his heart pounding. Obviously, he hadn’t meant to show emotion. He’d been controlled and business-like, except for the argument with his brother. Now, I wondered if he was trying to wrestle the old version of Griffon back into some cage.

He cleared his throat and gestured to the table inside my cell. “Coffee’s getting cold.” He left the chair and headed for the stairs. “Archer will bring you a blanket.”

Any chance of reaching that other Griffon was gone, but I couldn’t let the opportunity go. I had to swallow my pride and ask, “If you’re feeling so generous, maybe you’ll allow me toilet breaks?”

He paused and swung his head slowly from side to side. “You must stay inside. No matter what. Iamsorry.”

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