Page 112 of Dawn of Hope

It’s all part of his mind games. He’s already been using them on me since the moment we met.

Maybe he doesn’t want me dead, but that doesn’t negate everything else he is responsible for.

I fling out my arms, pushing him square in the chest. He staggers backa few steps, but holds my gaze. I pull my dagger from its sheath and hold it in front of me, just as Brynne taught me.

His eyes flick down to it, then back to me. “Please don’t,” he says. Then he winces, a movement so small, if I wasn’t looking at him so intently, I wouldn’t have seen it. In less than a second, his expression is serious again.

“You. It’s you. You lied to me!” I scream at him, holding my dagger a little higher. He eyes it briefly again, his head tilting slightly as he assesses it.

“I never lied to you, princess.”

“You did. You?—”

He shakes his head. “I never said who I was. You assumed.”

“Why? Why are you doing all of this?” I growl.

“That’s a conversation for another time.”

“There’s not going to fuckingbeanother time! Bring Fin back to me!”

“That’s not going to happen, princess.”

“Stop fucking calling me that!” My anger boils over at his denial and his nickname. I take a step and slash at him with my blade. He leans back, dodging it easily.

“I don’t want to fight you.” He holds his palms up to me in a mock surrender. “I asked you once. Please don’t.”

“I don’t care what you want! I want Fin back!” I charge forward, swiping at him as I go, but each strike misses as he moves swiftly out of my reach. Just when I think I have him backed against the wall, he takes quick steps toward me, catching me off guard. I scramble backwards, my balance thrown off by his sudden movements. He grabs my wrist and twists, pointing the dagger down at the ground.

I cry out as a sharp pain shoots through my arm, causing me to loosen my grip. He snatches the dagger from my hand, then releases me. I stagger backward, clutching my wrist.

He stares down at it, shaking his head and clucking his tongue before cursing under his breath. I only catch a few words. “…piss-poor job.”

“What did you say?” I snarl.

“I said whoever trained you did a piss-poor job,” he yells back at me. He reaches up and sheathes my dagger in a slot in his leathers and I feel panic rising in me.

“Fuck you!” I spit at him. I reach out and try to snatch it back. He deflects my arm easily and steps away as I crouch down, reaching for my only other weapon. I pull the knife out of my boot and run at him. He ducks my strike, his arm reaching out to circle mine as he pushes forward, forcing me back.

My back slams into the wall, my head following. He grabs both my wrists and holds them above my head, pinning me with his hips just as he had the last time we were in this cave.

“Shall I disarm you again, princess?” he grumbles so quietly, I almost can’t hear him over the roar of the waterfall. He stares down at me, our breaths mingling. I feel heat course through my body and my stomach bottoms out at the sound of his voice. I focus on my anger instead, letting the rage fuel me against this enemy. I refuse to let him distract me and disrupt my time here like he has since the moment I opened my eyes to his.

“I hate you,” I grind out through gritted teeth and use all my strength to try to push him off of me. He doesn’t budge, his size and strength too much for my slight frame pinned underneath him. His hand slides over mine and he pries the knife from my fingers.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He wrenches the knife out of my grasp and pulls away from me, causing me to fall forward. I hit the ground on my hands and knees, my palms scraping against the coarse cave floor. He saunters over to the cave opening and tosses my knife through the wall of the water.

“Hey!” I scream as I scramble to my feet. He picks up my bow and quiver and does the same, sending them slicing through the water and crashing down into the lagoon below.

“You don’t need them,” he says matter-of-factly as he brushes past me toward the back of the cave.

“I need them to protect myself!”

“From what?”

“From you!”

He scoffs, and fire blazes inside me at the dismissal.