Page 132 of Rage

She’s already eating the salad when Edmund goes over to the tray and puts a portion of the same salad in front of him.

Steele clears his throat, trying not to look at her for too long. “Thanks for, uh, having me down here tonight. I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

Reverie uses the utensils to cut a tomato with deliberate precision, her blue eyes briefly flittering to his. “Consider it a gesture of hospitality. Rare as they may be here.”

He nervously adjusts his posture. “Right. Well, it’s appreciated. Though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious…about you.…and this place.”

Reverie pauses mid-chew and sets her fork down slowly. “Curiosity is a dangerous thing, Steele. Especially here.”

He smirks slightly, trying to lighten the mood. “Good thing I’ve always been reckless, then. Got me this far, didn’t it?”

Full lips twitch in a near-untarnished smile, but it hardens. “And yet, you’re still here. Alive. For now.”

Steele leans forward slightly. “For now? Is that a threat?”

“It’s reality,” Reverie answers, her voice sharpening, though he can almost sense a flicker of vulnerability. “You should be more concerned about the things outside this room than me.”

“I’m concerned about you, too.” He takes a forkful of salad and puts it in his mouth. “The way you look at me sometimes…it’s like you’re carrying a weight so heavy, it’s breaking you apart.”

A cold laugh escapes her. “You think you’ve figured me out? From a few glances? You don’t know anything, Steele.”

“Maybe not. But I want to.” He swallows the salad with a sip of ale. “Why hide everything behind riddles and beastly snarls? You’re more than that. I can see it.”

Her hands clench the table's edges, her voice lowering to a growl. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You sit there, oblivious, asking questions you don’t want answers to.”

Steel hardens even further, yet he tries to soften his tone, making it almost so he’s pleading. “Maybe I do. Maybe I want to understand what’s keeping you locked up in this prison of a house. What’s keeping you locked away from yourself.”

Reverie stands abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. “You think this is a prison? You think you can waltz in here with your petty and naive curiosity and fix something that’s been broken for lifetimes? You’re a fool.”

Steel stands as well, his tone firm but not unkind. “Maybe I am. But I’m here. You can’t scare me.”

Reverie’s blue eyes blaze, her voice trembles with anger and something else—fear? Pain?

“Then you’re an even bigger idiot than I thought.”

She storms out of the dining hall, her footsteps echoing in the vast space. Steele stands there momentarily, running a hand through his hair, his heart pounding.

He picks up his half-finished glass of ale from the table and downs it in one gulp.

Edmund sidles up to him.

“You’ve known her for a while, haven’t you?”

Edmund glances up at him, his gray eyes slicing as he clears some of the dishes. “I’ve served her for as long as she has needed me.”

Steele frowns. “She doesn’t seem the type to need anyone. Not that I’d say that to her face.”

Edmund releases a faint smile that quirks up the side of his face, deepening his crow's feet. “Wise. She’s endured much, more than you could imagine. Trust does not come easily to her—nor should it.”

Steele crosses his arms. “So, how do I get her to trust me? I feel like every time I say something, I make it worse. If I’m to live here for eternity with you two and the ghosts, I’d like to be on good terms with the estate's monsters and the maiden who governs it.”

Edmund pauses, meeting Steele’s gaze with a measured look. “Trust is not something you gain with words alone, Mr. Steele.Actions speak louder, as they say. But it’s not only what you do; it’s why you do it.”

Steele's bushy brows furrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Edmund resumes clearing the table and returns to the serving station. “She’s not one to be swayed by grand gestures or hollow promises. She values consistency. Integrity. She watches for cracks in facades because she knows how easily they shatter.”

Steel rubs the back of his neck, thinking. “So, what do I do? Just…exist near her until she decides I’m worth her time?”

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