Page 95 of With Wing And Claw

‘I’d have liked alittlemore information before you threw yourself back in the game,’ she stiffly said, following him along the surf line. Flecks of white foam clung to her boots, to the hem of her tangerine dress. ‘How am I supposed to work with you if I don’t have a clue what you’re doing in the first place?’

He raised his eyebrows a fraction. ‘You can just tell me you don’t trust me. I won’t shatter on the spot.’

‘That’s not the point!’ Even though, admittedly, it quitewasthe point. ‘But I need to know what you’re working towards. I need to know what you’re trying to achieve. If I have to guess about your motivations while more and more of my own people show up with your bargains on their arms …’

Then how am I supposed to rely on you?

How do I know you aren’t quietly working against me after all?

She didn’t finish the sentence out loud, although she wasn’t sure why. Hewouldn’tcrumble at the implied accusation, would he? She’d be nothing but sensible to point it out, either. Even if he hadn’t beenplanningto hurt her, she had no idea how much he’d care if that turned out to be an accidental side effect of his activities.

But with the silence between them, the salty sea breeze in her hair, and the wet spray of the waves against her wings, it felt almost like a betrayal to speak the words.

‘The main thing I’m trying to achieve,’ he said finally, in that calm, low voice that made it so damnably tempting to believe him, ‘is to keep you alive. It appears you could use the assistance.’

She winced as if he’d slapped her in the face.

Weakness. The shock of it made the words come out sharper than intended – ‘I’m not twelve years old anymore, Silas.’

‘No,’ he said, eyes on the horizon. ‘I’m well aware.’

‘Then what makes you think I need—’

‘A handful of soldiers,’ he mildly interrupted, ‘have been making plans to smuggle Bereas and his consorts back into the castle through a delivery of food crates. Their arrival was supposed to coincide with the Hunter’s Moon festival, and their primary target would have been you. Did you know?’

From anyone else, that last question would have been a taunt. From him, it was just … a question.

‘Where did you hear of this?’ she said, voice too feeble.

‘A letter sent to a girl named Calaria. I’ve sent her your way – in return, I’ll have to try and save her sister from the hounds, although banishment would be acceptable.’ He paused, his golden eyes narrowed against the sun. ‘And then someone was caught tinkering with the water pipes leading to your rooms – we found a bag of arsenic in her possessions. I’m also still working out who started the circulation of a letter that was allegedly sent to you by members of the Alliance, thanking you for your invaluable assistance in winning the battle at the White City.’

Thysandra swivelled around, almost losing her balance in the loose sand. ‘What?’

He merely shrugged, never slowing down.

Traitor’s daughter.Traitor’s daughter. Her voice went shrill as she hurried after him and started, ‘I didn’t—’

‘Oh, I know,’ he interrupted, swatting her protest away with a twitch of his wing. ‘Two or three people have already admitted under bargain that the document is falsified, and we’ll get to the root of it soon enough. What I’m trying to say …’

He paused for a moment, as if to gather his thoughts. She barely managed to keep moving her feet in the silence that fell, her heart pounding its deafening rhythm ofhide, hide, hide– because they could call her a tyrant for all she cared, they could call her a bitch and a murderer and a spoilsport intent on ruining everyone’s parties …

Traitor’s daughter, the waves whispered to her left.

The hounds howled in her memories.

‘I know you’re bloody capable, Thys,’ Silas finally said, his voice so unbelievably flat. ‘I know you’d likely have survived most of these attempts by yourself, if not all of them. But you’re also surrounded by a few thousand people all clamouring for their own gain, and for more than a few of them, you’re standing between them and their victory. You only need to be unlucky once.’

‘It’s not a matter of luck.’ Too quick. Too brusque. Her heartbeat wouldn’t slow down. ‘I have people working for me. Protecting me. Anyone who wishes to kill me needs to get through my allies before they can reach me at all.’

‘Hmm.’ He nodded on the edge of her sight, still no feelings or opinions breaking through the broad mask of his features. ‘And do you trust them? Your allies?’

More than I trust you.

It seemed unkind to make that point out loud, though, so instead she went with a more or less composed, ‘I offer them a path to achieve their goals.’

He glanced at her beside him, eyes boring into her face. ‘That’s not what I asked.’

Wasn’t it?