She nodded.
Her dark eyes snapped to mine. “That can’t happen again,” she said, her voice was barely a whisper and I tried not to react when it cracked.
“No,” I replied quietly. “It can’t, and it won’t.” She wouldn’t even look at me. I wasn’t sure if she had been talking about the attack, or me.
“So what do we do? We don’t know who wants me dead. We don’t even know who those people were who…”
“From now on you’ll either be with me or Serefin at all times. It would take an entire army to kill one of us, princess. You’re safe. It might not feel like it, but you’re safe.”
She pushed herself from the ground and stood up. “I want to see my sister,” she said.
I waited for a second for her to add something to that statement.
But she just stared at me.
“Absolutely not,” I answered.
She scowled and crossed her arms. “She expected me to die last night. I expected to die. I have to tell her I’m okay.”
“You’re covered in blood and you’re cut. You’re not going anywhere, especially when we don’t know who wants you dead. You’re not okay.”
I watched her chest rise and fall. If she wasn’t in shock yet, she would be soon.
But based on the amount of blood she had yet to wash off, she wasn’t handling this well.
“If you take me to see my sister, I’ll help you find out who did this. We both want the same thing. Me alive. Do this one thing for me and I’ll help you.”
Any other day, I would have said no. I would have said Saints no. But even covered in her attackers’ blood, Jade was the most stubborn human I had ever met.
That was going to be dangerous. But it could also be useful in the fae court.
I looked at her from head to toe. Her bare feet looked so small against the stone tile of the floor. Her exposed legs were tan, something I was sure she had earned from hunting outside all the time. She was skinny. Too skinny. I was going to have to strengthen her up if she was going to fight off a fae.
And she still held that knife. Her knuckles were white from her grip.
“Fine,” I said. I didn’t know if it was a lie, or if I was actually giving in. “I’ll take you back to your house. But you do everything I tell you, no arguing anymore. And you have to actually trust me if you want to survive in Rewyth, princess. And I decide when we leave, so don’t go bugging me about it every day. You’re staying here for now.”
Her eyes lit up, but she kept her face still. “Don’t call me princess,” she repeated as she walked past me and into the bathroom. “And quit looking at me like I’m fresh meat. It’s not a good look on you.”
I waited until I heard her step underneath the water again before I let out the breath I was holding.
Her sass would have annoyed me to no end any other day, but today, I found myself smiling.
She had seen me rip a man’s head from his body, and she was still able to crack jokes. That was a good start.
But we had a long way to go if Jade was going to stay alive.
CHAPTER 11
Jade
Malachi had been gone for hours. I spent a majority of the night trying to sleep, but it was impossible.
Everything I thought I knew was wrong, and Malachi had power that I had only heard about in ancient legends.
My mind was spinning. I remembered every single rumor I had ever heard about the Prince of Shadows, and I tried to decipher the truth.
The truth about my husband. The truth about my new life.
My stomach grumbled. What was he out there doing? Where did he go? To find whoever did this, I hoped. But Malachi seemed to have his own agenda. He seemed to have his own ideas about who was behind this attack.
And he wasn’t sharing anything with me.
The door had been locked. I checked as soon as Malachi left. I wasn’t surprised. After what happened, he wasn’t going to let me out of here. I was as good as dead.
“I know you’re out there,” I yelled through the door. My forehead felt hot as I laid in against the surface of the door. “You can’t just leave me in here and expect me to sit quietly. I’m hungry!”
I heard movement before Serefin responded, “Just wait a few more hours. I’m sure the prince will be back soon.”
My stomach sank. “Hours? You really want me to sit in here alone every day just waiting for Malachi to come home?” I took a deep breath and tried to calm my emotions, but my throat was stinging. “I didn’t survive this far to sit here and rot in a bedroom that isn’t even mine.”