* * *
The walk back to the clearing was a lesson in tension.
Xander led the way as I stumbled along behind him, with my drenched skirts clenched in my fists. Neither of us spoke, and every time he glanced back at me, fire seemed to flash in his eyes.
He was angry, that was clear.
Good. I was angry too.
And exhausted.
And confused.
But at the moment, the anger I felt coursing through me was shoving all my other emotions to the wayside. How dare hedemandI speak? He thought he could force me to tell him my story?
Red spots filled my vision. I had already escaped from one cage. I wasn’t going to sit back and let him force me into another one. No one would ever bind me again. I wouldn’t let them.
The insufferable male was muttering to himself as we walked. I could practically taste the anger coming off him in waves. His disdain for me was evident.
Well, the feeling was mutual. The events of this morning had solidified one thing for me: Xander and I werenotgood together. Every time we were left alone, things always seemed to get out of hand.
With every step, I dove deeper into the pit of fury that was roiling through my veins. I didn’t want to tell him anything. The problem was, I also knew that if he left me here, I would be completely lost. I had no idea where we were.
The very thought of being left alone in the woods while the Red Shadow was coming after me was enough to make me want to stab something. Unfortunately for me, my knives were back with my cloak.
I settled for stomping loudly as I huffed along behind Xander. If he was going to make me tell him everything, I was going to do it on my own time, and only once I was ready.
A plan began to form in my mind, and I smirked.
I had overheard enough servants talk to know what made a male uncomfortable, even if it wasn’t something I was especially familiar with. Never one to back out of a situation just because it was new, I knew exactly what I was going to do.
Xander would beveryuncomfortable when I was done with him.
And that was exactly how I wanted him.
* * *
“Get your stuff, Aileana,” Xander ordered.
Without waiting for a response, he knelt. In one swift movement, he grabbed his own cloak and threw it over his shoulders before stalking off through the woods.
I pointedly ignored the river, the waters deceptively calm as I picked up my cloak and daggers. A breath of relief slipped out of me as I slid the daggers into their rightful places.
Armed once more, I slipped on my shoes before glaring at Xander’s retreating form. I wished with every fiber of my being that I could summon those green ribbons from earlier. Where was Myhhena when I needed her?
Alas, my simmering anger left me with nothing but bruised feet and a half-baked plan that would hopefully irritate my fake husband.
A large part of me wanted to just sit down on a stump and refuse to move, but I knew what would happen. Xander would just come and pick me up.
He’d probably throw me over his shoulder like a sack of grain and carry me to the cavern like some sort of prehistoric being. His grip would probably be hard. He’d growl. My body tingled, and my stomach twisted as I thought about his warm hands on me. Touching me. Gripping me…
Stop it, I ordered myself.Focus. The last thing you want is for him to touch you again.
The problem—and it was a problem—was that when Xander’s too-warm hands were on my skin, my brain seemed to lose the ability to think rationally. And that was the last thing I needed right now.
Gathering my soaked skirts in my hands, I stomped after Xander. By the time the cavern was in sight, my hands were turning blue from the cold water seeping into my skin. That only served to further ignite my anger as I huffed my way inside the cavern.
Xander was crouched over a small fire about ten feet into the cavern, his back to me. “I hope you’re ready to talk,” he grumbled as he tended to the fire.