Page 31 of Godsbane
“Twenty-eight,” he answers matter-of-factly.
“Awfully young to have such a powerful reputation, greatCaptain of Corinth.”
“I could say the same for you,Poison Ivy.”
I’ve been called that name hundreds of times, but it feels like a punch in the gut to hear it from his lips now. My magic recoils at the sound, stinging as it hides deep within me. A silent moment lingers between us and I can’t help but wonder if maybe he hates it too.
Does our strange connection make his nickname hurt more when I say it? Does he even know just how connected we truly are?
“Are you going to ask anything about me?” I ask.
“I already know everything about you.”
“Stalker,” I tease.
“Maybe,” he teases back. “Or maybe I’m a soldier well-briefed on his assignment.”
Despite his tone, there’s a harsh truth to his words that stings in a way I didn’t expect. A stark reminder of what this really is, stripped bare of alliances predestined by gods. He visibly winces before collecting himself, searching for words to soften the growing tension.
“You’re not an assignment. You’re?—”
“I wasn’t given enough notice to study up on you, Captain,” I interrupt. “So I’m afraid you’ll have to start from the beginning.”
I don’t need whatever backpedaling he’s attempting. This is an assignment—a forced arrangement for the both of us. I shouldn’t care how his words make my magic retreat or my stomach sink, and I’m not going to start now.
“There are very few people who know anything about me, princess. I doubt you would have found out anything, even if you had notice I would be escorting you, at least not anything with any truth to it.”
I’m tempted to ask about the legends, about the heinous acts he supposedly committed to earn his promotion to captain, but I know all too well how rumors grow to take on a life of their own. And I’m not sure I want to know yet if there’s any truth to his.
One day I’ll have the stomach to ask; I have to, but today is not that day.
“I heard that you were a broody asshole, which so far seems to be true.”
Cal lets out a deep belly laugh that catches me so off guard that I nearly fall off my horse. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you talked to my brother.”
There it is, the tiniest bit of trust, the start to discovering exactly who the captain is and how I can use him.
“You have a brother?” I ask cautiously.
“Nice try, but it’s not time for another question. I believe you have another … twenty-six minutes or so.”
“There you go, further cementing my opinion.”
A lie. If anything, I respect his hesitation to withhold information from me. I wouldn’t trust his instincts if he didn’t. And I have to trust him if I have any hope of keeping Lord General Marks off the throne.
I cannot let whatever this is brewing between us keep me from what I must do:use him.
CHAPTER 12
We don’t finish our game of questions thanks to my inability to hold onto the contents of my stomach. When we finally stop to make camp, I’m relegated to firewood duty again in hopes that I can walk off the last of the hangover that might finally be leaving my body.
Branches litter the outskirts of the clearing, likely courtesy of the storm from two nights ago, and my arms are quickly full of wood that will burn well into the night.
A litany of chatter echoes through the trees from the direction of where I left Cal to set up our camp. Three distinct voices but only one that I recognize.
I peer around the trunk of a large oak tree and find two men talking to the captain, tension evident between them.
“You don’t think I know that?” The captain runs his fingers frustratedly through his dark hair, his voice nearly a growl.
