Her gaze turned intent. “Why did you leave me that day? At the river?”
She’d never asked me that before.
I wasn’t a man who was used to feeling emotions like guilt or regret. And yet, when I thought of what could have happened to her, all alone by that river…
I quashed the urge to give her a glib answer. I was quiet for so long, she looked away. Finally, I sighed.
“I have been doing the kinds of tasks that would break many men for a very long time. When you live such a life, you eventually have to make a choice. Allow your deeds to stack up on your shoulders with every movement, crippling you with their weight, or turn that part of you—the part that cares about right and wrong and good and bad—off. When I first saw you, I didn’t see a person. I saw a problem I had no answer to. And then you looked at me, and I knew you’d survive.”
“How could you know that?”
“You forget—I’m older and wiser than you.” She rolled her eyes at that, and I couldn’t help but smile. “It wasn’t just fear and desperation in your eyes that day.”
She snorted. “Is that right? Tell me what else you believe you saw.”
I caught her wrist. It was so small in my hand. So fragile. And yet, this woman had already gotten closer to the king than any rebel before her.
“I saw a burning rage. A wrath and retribution within you, just waiting to be freed. You killed two men.”
She flinched and attempted to free her hand, but I held on. “You fought for your survival. You made it through that forest until you found me again. When I saw you—and your poor attempt to sneak up on us—I wanted you so badly, I was enraged. So I buried it down deep, vowing to never even think of acting on it. And then I realized what power you had, and even as I loathed myself for it, I was relieved.”
Her brow creased. “Why?”
The words were difficult to say, but she deserved to hear them. “Because I would get to keep you for a little while. And I vowed that even if you hated me for it, I would make sure you were able to survive.”
She was quiet for a long time. Then she leaned down and pressed a kiss to the hand I had wrapped around her wrist.
“Can I ask you something?” Her voice was drowsy.
“Yes.”
“How much power do hybrids have?”
“Hybrids are more powerful than humans. Which is one of the reasons why they are a threat to the king. They recover faster from injuries and sickness. If you’d been human, you would have died from that poison.” Ice spread through my veins at the thought. Even with her hybrid blood, she’d come incredibly close to death.
And it had taken all my self-control not to slaughter the woman responsible. My instincts urged me to remove the threat she still presented.
“What about the fae? How much more powerful are they than humans and hybrids?”
“The fae are their own creatures. But there are so many different types of fae that it would be difficult to compare them accurately. Some of them are so long-lived, they’re almost ancient compared to humans. They see humans as little more than pests that should have been eradicated long before they became a threat. I’ve met fae who enjoy humans—not just sexually and not to eat, as Sabium likes to suggest. But as friends.”
She thought about that. “Do you consider the fae your friends?”
“Some of them,” I said honestly. “Some of them, I stay away from as much as possible. But you asked about their power. Most humans have one gift. One ability. Hybrids have the same, but that one ability can rival the fae.”
“And the fae?”
“They have one main ability, similar to the hybrids. But they also have various small magics. Simple things that would seem incredible to humans.”
She was quiet for a while. “You’re so knowledgeable. Clearly, you’ve been traveling for a long time. What’s it like?”
She meant what was it like being a mercenary. “I enjoy the freedom. But it can be…lonely.”
“Even with Marth and the rest keeping you company?”
I chuckled. “We’ve been together for so long, we’re mostly tired of one another.”
She yawned. “I should get back to my room before I fall asleep here.”
I tamped down my instant denial. Becoming possessive of this woman would be a mistake. Even if I wanted to soak up her scent and chain her to this bed where she would stay safe.
So I helped her dress, distracting her with long kisses and murmured suggestions, until she was laughing, her eyes lit with lust.