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“Show me.”

“Fuck you.” She thrust her hand out, ignoring the stinging crescents she’d punched into her own skin. “Give me the fucking bread, then leave me alone. Or better yet, use your air magic and widen that crack.” She stabbed a finger at the ceiling.

“And bring the whole thing down on us?” Bryon gave her a scathing look as he dropped the bread into her hand then settled with his back against the wall opposite. They’d sat like this for days now, in hostile silence interrupted only by arguments. “You’re smarter than that.”

“You could at least try,” she snarled, and bit into the bread roll. The taste of it made her retch, and he shot the big, mean bastard a filthy look.

“I told you I lied,” he remarked with a little scoff, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he watched her. “And I’m not widening that crack. Neither are you, so find something else to obsess over.”

“Then I’ll obsess over murdering you,” she replied sweetly.

His nostrils flared when he exhaled a hard, pissed off breath. “I couldn’t work magic if I wanted to, unless you’ve forgotten.” He lifted his wrist where a solid pewter cuff clamped to his skin, beautifully elaborate but abhorrent.

Maia ripped her eyes away. He wasn’t beastkind, had no animal form to suppress, but he was cuffed regardless. “Why are you doing this anyway? What do you stand to gain by forcing me to eat?”

“Other than not being alone with the fucking saints?” he huffed. “The Sapphire Knight’s a good man. I owe him, and letting his mate waste away seems like a piss poor way of repaying him for everything he’s given me.”

Maia shouldn’t have replied. She should have let the conversation die, but she chewed the stale, disgusting bread, choked it down, and then asked, “What has he given you?”

“A roof over my head for starters,” Bryon said with a deepening of that perpetual scowl. “A place to train, and other people to fight with. I’ve got more chance of watching that bitch on the throne burn with the rebels than I have alone.” He glanced at Maia. “No offense.”

The laugh that burst from her was twisted and dark. “She locked me up and crucified me. I want her to burn, too. Or lose her head. Or get ripped apart by wolves. I’m not picky.”

She didn’t look to see what expression Bryon wore, but he was quiet enough that she ripped through the rest of the roll and choked it down. Saints, it was awful.

“So you’re keeping me alive because Az gave you a purpose,” she mused, staring at his shoulder again. “How noble of you.”

“Thanks. Can you catch?”

Now she did look at his face. Well, frowned at it. “Are you having a mental break?” When he just scowled deeper, Maia rolled my eyes and sighed,“Yes,I can catch.”

Without further explanation he hurled a projectile at her. She was lucky to pluck it from the air before it nailed her in the face.

“You canjust aboutcatch,” he grumbled. “You should practise.”

“I highly doubt catching would help me fight saints,” she said archly, inspecting what she’d caught: a chunk of cheddar half as big as her hand. With a shrug, she bit into it and chewed. If he wanted to give up his food, who was Maia to complain? “I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you with Az if we ever get out of here, since he’s the only reason you’re being nice to me. Maybe you’ll get a nice promotion from grumpy soldier to grumpy captain.”

“I’m already a captain.”

She polished off the cheese and settled back against the wall. “No other reason you’re giving me food?”

“No,” he all but growled.

“Coward,” she said with a laugh. She should have been kinder. He’d lost his wife and child to Ismene and her insane vendetta against beastkind.

“Says the woman who won’t even touch her bonds,” he threw right back at her.

She bared her canines in a vicious snarl, the sound echoing off the stone walls. Arsehole. She could barelyfeelher bonds, the place where their souls flowed into hers completely numb,clouded with distance or weakness or… she didn’t want to think about anything else. What if the bonds weren’t just clouded, but gone? She was sofurious,the glade at the heart of her soul bending under a constant onslaught of mate fury that she could barely sense anything at all. Would she have felt it if they died?

“At least I admit they—” she began, more than happy to take out her fear and rage on Bryon. The heavy stone door inset into the wall swung open with a horrific grating of stone on stone before she could finish. Maia’s whole body trembled as she scrambled to her feet. Fuck, she was weak. She swayed into the wall, gritting her teeth as blood flowed into her legs, deciding to stab every bit of skin and muscle on its way there. Her tender wing scraped stone.

“Careful,” Bryon growled under his breath.

She gave him a finger. A specific one reserved just for him. “Bother about yourself, old man.”

He ground his teeth together with so much force that she heard them grate. Or maybe that was the door opening the rest of the way.

Maia forced herself to stand on her own merit, pushing off the wall and honestly surprised when her body didn’t fail her. She didn’t fancy slamming into solid stone face-first. Today was already bad enough without a concussion. But she refused to show weakness to the bastard on the other side of that door.