“Yea, I saw it. And no, it wasn’t impressive.”
A frown pulled on my lips as I got to my feet. I was brushing the dirt off my butt when he grabbed my arm and pulled me roughly down the alley. “I want to wring your neck for the stunt you just pulled.”
“Why’s it matter to you?” I challenged. He was leaving soon to go court naked Elian princesses, so why pretend he cared about what I did?
“The short version or the long version?”
I pursed my lips like this was a much more serious question than it was, before looking up at him and supplying, “Short?”
His voice was deadpan. “It was stupid.”
“Long?”
“It was very stupid.”
I smiled, but it fell off my face when he jerked me around the corner. The sun was low over the water, placid ocean waves and sailors’ shouts steady noise in the background as we walked to the far side of the docks, near the harbor.
“What are we doing here?” I asked. “I’m not going to Elian with you no matter how much you want me to.”
He flicked his gaze to me. “If I wanted you to go, you’d go.”
I frowned as he pulled me down a wooden dock, our footsteps hollow against the wood.
I wouldn’t have followed him so easy if I weren’t so conflicted on what to do back home. But I hadn’t quite figured out that situation yet; all I knew was that I’d be stealing some of Farah’s poison to slip in her drink.
And so, until I figured out a better plan with how to deal with Agnes, I’d see what the Titan was up to.
“You pick out a husband?”
My eyes widened, shooting up to him. The question was voiced nonchalant and completely emotionless. A sliver of unease trickled into my heart. What happened to jealous streak? And why did I suddenly mourn that? “I don’t think I would tell you if I did,” I said cautiously.
He raised a brow in question.
“You might kill him like you do everyone else.”
He didn’t deny it or confirm it, he only pushed me up against a wooden boathouse wall and chained my wrist above my head—wait, what?
“What the hell . . .” I eyed the heavy iron chain, pulling on it, noticing it was attached to a rafter, keeping my arm completely stretched out. Before I could even think to stop him, my other wrist was stretched above my head, a shackle digging into my skin.
He turned his back and walked a few steps away, while I wide-eyed the situation I was in. “Why is there a sheet under my feet? And what the bloody hell is this? If this is some kind of taboo thing you’re into—”
“Calamity, shut up.” The voice was quiet, almost strained, but it did shut me up, completely. Something was wrong here. Maybe being chained to a wall would clarify that to me, but that wasn’t it—it was the tension in the Titan’s shoulders, a tightness I’d never seen before. He was uncomfortable. And that sent uncertainty prickling inside my chest.
I watched him with wide eyes as he pulled a blade out of the back of his waistband and twirled the handle between his fingers. My heartbeat sped up, watching the too natural way he handled the knife. “What are you doing with that?”
“Your magic,” he said tightly. “Why can’t you use it?”
I shook my head uncertainly. “I don’t know.”
“Think, Calamity.” His words were harsh. “What mental barrier is stopping you? It’s not physical, it’s all inside your head.”
Unease ran through me. But he was mistaken—it was physical. I’d know. It was my body. “You’re wrong.”
“This magic thing, it’s a head game. Different for everyone. You’re the only one who can figure this out, or trust me, I would do it for you. When we leave here, you’re going to have full use of your magic.”
A nervous shiver went through me, and I shook my head. “I don’t think I want your help. In fact, I know I don’t.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, they were void of emotion, completely empty, sending a chill through my heart. Two things I suddenly knew: one, he’d shut down on me, and I wasn’t going to get any more sympathy from him; and two, I was getting his help whether I liked it or not.