Page 13 of Ruthless Scoundrel
He closes his eyes and exhales a heavy breath that washes over my face. “I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t want you dead or harmed.” He opens his eyes and glares down at me as he wipes the spit from his cheek. “But I’m starting to change my mind.”
“You expect me to justcomply?”
“This would go a lot smoother if you would,” he says with an angry grin.
“Get fucked.”
“Iamfucked!”
I flinch involuntarily, turning my face away from his fury.
“We’re stuck here together, and if we’re going to survive, we need each other.” He scoffs. “At least,youneedme. I could easily leave you behind to die.”
I glare at him. “Do it then.”
He stares at me like I’m some unreadable script of essential knowledge. “No.”
Because he needs me.
“Are you going to keep acting like a wild animal, or can I get up?” he asks with a pointed eyebrow.
I lift my chin and give him a snotty smile. “You’ve caged me like one, why shouldn’t I behave as such?”
“Such achild,” he mutters as his grip relaxes on my wrists.
“I amnota child,” I grit out as I push him off me. He can’t go far since we’re still connected by the manacles, but luckily, the chain is long enough we can get a foot of distance. Anything is better than being pressed against him.
I swallow and realize that last bit of spit was all the moisture I had in my mouth. Nine hells, I’m thirsty. And hungry. And he’s right.
I have no idea where we are. While I could use my magic like a beacon, I would undoubtedly attract the wrong kind of attention. We could be miles from the shipwreck, or meters. The queen could be bolstering to return with her own ships right now.
“What in the hells kind of power was that, anyway?” he asks. “The dark cloud?”
My mother…
I haven’t seen anything like that in my nineteen years. Had the rebellion known she could do something like that? They mustn’t have. Is it part of their plan to have me abducted? Is that why Jasper is trying to keep me alive and healthy?
“Who are you really and where are we going?” I ask with as much civility as I can muster.
“What’s your magic?” he counters.
“Are we just going to endlessly ask one another questions and get no answers?”
He shrugs. “Is that how you’re going to play this?”
I look out over the sea. “You’re insufferable.”
“Likewise, princess.”
I was always left in the dark of the rebellion’s dealings. I’m too “compromised” to know anything, and opportunities to talk were few and far between. I’m just a weapon to them, one they couldn’t train while I was under such strict supervision by thequeen’s guard. It’s very possible they had me abducted so I could be molded into the weapon they need me to be.
My eyes burn at the thought of Lumi plotting my kidnapping one night and smiling at me the next day in the gardens. Maybe she never actually liked me. Perhaps none of them did.
Weapon.
“Are you done feeling sorry for yourself?” the asshole asks.
I want to throw sand in his face, but I contain myself. I’mnota child.
