Page 66 of Those Fatal Flowers

I allow him to slide it onto the same finger Cora wore it on when it was hers. How ugly this golden band is—a visible symbol that I no longer belong to myself.

He never officially asked me to marry him, never confirmed that his second place was enough to win my hand and the treasure that comes with it. He simply assumes he’s entitled to me, and why shouldn’t he? This is a man who has never been told no. He’s both spoiled and wealthy, a dangerous combination.

He drops to his knees to crawl toward me, though not in supplication. When he’s close enough, he grabs ahold of my legs and buries his head in my lap. My hands slide up the arms of the chair as my entire body recoils from his touch. He digs in deeper.

“I can’t wait to taste you.”

“Stay back,” I hiss, pushing his face away. He looks up at me with a grin.

“You can only play coy for so long, sweet Thelia,” he says.

“I’m not your wife yet,” I growl, managing to kick my legs free. He falls onto his backside with a loud thud, and I jump to my feet. Thankfully, he’s so slammed with drink that he can’t follow me. He doesn’t have the coordination right now to punish my petulance with a smack.

“Technically,” he concedes. “But you weren’t Will’s, either.”

“How dare you—”

“Don’t bother pretending, my lady. Will could never keep secrets from me.”

“You can have me as soon as we set sail for—”

“I know, I know. We’ll go as soon as the weather permits. I have no reason to delay, not now.” He crawls back to his knees, and then rises to his feet. “But I can keep a secret if you can…”

When his hand reaches for the top of my nightgown, I slap it away, staring daggers. For now, he heeds the warning and stalks to my bedroom door, miming disappointment.

“I won’t wait much longer,” he warns. My stomach flips.

Once he’s gone, I rush forward to block the door, but the act brings me no comfort.

From now on, there will be only sleepless nights in the Bailie house.

15

Before

I dive for Pisinoe, knocking the song from her lips as we fall to the ground in a tangle of limbs and wings. Her surprise is my only advantage, and I make use of it, rolling my body on top of hers to pin her arms against her sides with my legs. Then my hands clamp down across her mouth. Pisinoe’s blue eyes flare, hot as fire.

“I’ll explain everything,” I whisper, looking back over my shoulder. Jaquob’s form has slumped into the sand, the now-empty liquor bottle at his side. He’s too drunk to notice anything amiss in the thicket behind him. “Just don’t sing.”

She growls so fiercely behind my palms that my fingers flinch, fearing her bite. But two can play at this game, especially when it’s Proserpina who’s at stake. When I speak again, my voice is a hiss. “I’m serious.”

Pisinoe grunts in assent, though she doesn’t look happy about it. When I slide off her frame, she allows me to lead her out of Jaquob’s earshot.

“How could you hide this?” she asks. “From the gods? From me?” I’ve never seen her warm face this shattered. Not when Ceres spoke those final words and sealed our fate, norwhen we found ourselves deposited on this forsaken island. Not even after those first sailors bound us. Because all those times, it was never me betraying her.

I shake my head. “You don’t understand. I didn’t want to keep this from you, but—”

“But what? You hid him here by accident? It’s been six weeks since the wreck! What have you been feeding him—gods, our food?His companions?”

“Pisinoe, please—”

She brings a hand to her lips, her teeth grazing at her thumb. An anxious habit from when we were children. “Raidne will know what to do.”

“No.” Even I’m surprised by the authority my voice carries. “You can’t tell her.”

Her eyes widen. The blue irises are still laced with fury, and she laughs at me bitterly. “You can’t expect me to keep this secret for you.”

“She’ll make me kill him, Pisinoe!”

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