Page 113 of Reckless
She shakes her head, hiding a smile while stuffing the bedrolls into her pack. “Well, no more. Of any of it.”
“Why?” I place a hand on the pack she’s fighting to throw over her shoulder. “Worried you’ve stopped hating me?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” She leans in, face close. “I’m nolonger diseased. Ordinaries wereneverdiseased, actually. So, you have no excuse to hate what I am anymore.”
I blink at her. “I never said I hated what you are.”
“Fine. Hated what I wasn’t.”
I open my mouth, her name ready to fall from the tip of my tongue. But I stop myself, honoring her wish to not use it again. “Gray. When I look at you, I see a strength that no Elite possesses—and it called to me long before I ever discovered what you were or were not.”
Her eyes flick between mine, full of an emotion I can’t decipher. “And yet, you’re still dragging me back to Ilya.”
“Duty,” I murmur. “Not choice.”
“Right.” Her voice is stiff. She slings the pack over her shoulder and ducks out of the shelter. “So don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
I follow behind, pulling my shirt on before adding the bow across my chest. Puddles litter the damp ground, the morning sun reflecting off what the storm left behind. “I’m not the only one making this difficult.”
Her scoff echoes off the stones. “We wouldn’t even be in this position if you’d have let me disappear and start a new life.”
“Duty, remember?”
She stomps in front of me, rattling the chain between us. “Doesn’t mean you’re not ruining my life, remember?”
“You did that yourself the moment you plunged a sword through the king’s chest, remember?”
“He came at me,remember?” She spins to face me. “And this kingdom is far better off without him. Maybe you’ll start believing that after all you’ve learned.”
My palms are suddenly planted on either side of her face as I shake my head. “You are a pain in the ass, you know that?”
“Why, because I’m right?” she breathes.
“Because you’re dangerous.”
Her eyes never stray from mine. “I would have thought you’d gathered that the first time I kicked your ass.”
“Oh, I did.” My thumb brushes her cheek. “But it was when you kissed me that I truly feared what you’d done to me.”
She shuts her eyes. “I told you to stop that.”
“This is honesty, not flirting.”
“Well, your right dimple is still showing, so—”
“Is that why your eyes are closed?” I laugh, ducking my face so it’s level with hers.
“We should keep walking,” she blurts, turning away from me. “You’re on a tight schedule and my feet are already hurting—”
“Don’t deflect, Gray,” I call behind her.
“Do you think it will rain today? I’d rather not be drenched again. I’m still drying off from yesterday.”
“We kissed.” I see her back stiffen beneath the damp shirt sticking to her skin. “Three times now.”
She turns, looking tired. “Why are you telling me this as if I’m not constantly avoiding thinking about it?”
“Because this is already more difficult than it should be,” I say, taking a step toward her. “You’re not just a mission to me. You’re not just another enemy for me to find. You’re something even more terrifying.”
