Page 71 of With Wing And Claw

‘I was.’ His smile was joyless as the grave. ‘You a little less so.’

‘I was nowhere near an adult!’ Sickening heat stole over her, shame as much as anger. ‘And it had barely beenyearssince you—'

‘Thys, I’m not attacking you.’ He rubbed a hand over his face, then faltered, not meeting her gaze as he lowered his arm again. ‘I’m trying to stop hating you. And to explain why it’s taking somewhat of an effort, as rational or irrational as it may be.’

She stared at him, stunned.

Hehatedher?

It was clear enough that he’d never liked her, of course. She hadn’t thought him capable of liking anyone in the first place, and she’d never made the slightest effort to form an exception to that rule. But disdain, disinterest, a careless delight in her suffering … None of that came anywhere close tohate, did it?

She’d never thought herself powerful enough to hold that much sway over him.

‘I was trying to justify it to Em,’ he added, a wry, self-deprecating smile twitching the corners of his lips. ‘My dislike of you, I mean. And she made the mindboggling point that this might be exactly what my darling mother aimed to achieve in the first place – us blaming each other for all that was wrong in our lives. Imagine two of the most powerful mages at her court realising she was fucking both of them over.’

Thysandra swallowed. ‘Well, youdid—’

‘I wasborn, Thys.’ She’d never heard anything so close to despair in his voice. ‘I promise you I didn’t ask for her to kick you into the dirt the next day.’

‘No,’ she said numbly. ‘No, I suppose you didn’t, but …’

But what?

But he’d been an insufferable little shit for three and a half centuries since? Undeniably true, and then again …

She too had been playing the game.

‘Fuck,’ she muttered.

‘I know,’ he said, throat bobbing, and then again, ‘I know.’

‘Is that why Emelin gave me that cursed court, then?’ The crumbling walls and broken arches were tilting around her. ‘Revenge on your behalf for the way I’ve been treating you?’

‘No.’ He paused, then slowly added, ‘I think she mostly picked you because you offered her your help once. That night after the Mother took me captive.’

For a moment, Thysandra could do nothing but blink at him.

That strange, violent night when everything had shifted … Creon, dangling from the ceiling of the bone hall with hooks through his wings. Emelin, small and human-looking and seeming so very lost on the pavilion’s doorstep.

Come see me if you need help.

Mere hours before the girl had escaped. Mere hours before Thysandra had let her.

‘That …’ She swallowed. ‘That was stupid of me.’

‘Maybe,’ he said dryly, some of the usual careless arrogance returning to his expression as he stretched his legs towards the fire and tilted his head at her. ‘But I wouldn’t have invited you for dinner if you hadn’t done it, so I would argue it won you at leastsomething. Speaking of which – tea?’

‘As long as you don’t poison it,’ she numbly said.

His grin held a faint edge of that familiar wickedness. ‘Happy to switch cups.’

Which would have been an obvious double-bluff if they’d been at home – but they weren’t at home, no one else was serving them the drinks, and she watched him retrieve the kettle from the fire and pour two mugs of tea without a single suspicious twitch of his fingers. It smelled a damn sight better than whatever brew Silas had served her this morning. Mint. Chamomile. Something like … cinnamon?

By the time she wrapped her fingers around the warm, smooth earthenware, the conversation hadn’t started making even a fraction more sense.

‘So are you trying to imply …’ She paused, breathing in the fragrant steam. ‘Are you suggesting this was supposed to be some sort ofreward, then? Blackmailing me into taking on a role that would most likely kill me?’

Creon sank back onto the bench, raking his long hair out of his face before he slowly said, ‘More of an … opportunity, I’d say.’