Sin! “Are you all right?” My earlier fear for my sister returned.
Cassie pointed to her ears and shook her head, obviously unable to hear me as her griffin pulled further away, clearing its flight path.
“Your sister’s fine; she’s the one who organized this whole thing,” Ryker said, shifting behind me in the saddle.
I twisted back around with a snarl. “So now you can talk? Sinning liar.”
His sigh faded on a gust of wind. He leaned closer, and I leaned away, wary of ever being close to him again—an impossible feat considering our situation.
He scowled. “I’m trying to explain myself, but I don’t want to have a shouting match. . . it still hurts to talk.”
I swallowed hard, but after a moment, my curiosity and common sense got the better of me. As much as I hated to admit it, if he truly wanted to hurt or kill me, he had plenty of time to do it while I was unconscious. Then again, that brought up the question, why hadn’t he?
Taking a deep breath, I exhaled and faced forward, letting Ryker lean back in. His chest pressed against my back, and I silently cursed the shiver that shot up my spine as his breath brushed along my neck.
“I didn’t lie to you. I haven't been able to speak since I was twelve. . .” he trailed off, his voice deep with an underlying rasp. So strange to hear him talk after all this time. I struggled not to turn around and show my interest. What happened when he was twelve?
“A few days after you saved my life and healed the damage from that berserk golem, I was whittling in my room. I accidentally cut myself and noise actually came out of my throat for once. The damage isn’t completely healed. Like I said, it’s still painful to talk, and my voice doesn’t sound like it used to, but thanks to you, Icantalk again.”
I finally turned my head, craning my neck to meet his golden gaze. I narrowed my eyes, searching his face, but all hostility and coldness from earlier were gone. “Why do you want me dead?”
“I don’t.”
I raised a skeptical eyebrow and felt Ryker chuckle, rather than heard him as a smile played about his lips.
“At least not anymore. But there are others who do—powerful and dangerous people.”
“But why?” I wondered, relaxing my neck and facing forward again. “I’m no one.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?” I asked, running my fingers through Arrow’s feathers just beyond the pommel of the saddle.
“You’re the daughter of the empress—one of the most powerful and evil beings to ever walk the earth.”
Evil?Is that what he thought? “But I’m not powerful or evil . . . I don’t think.”
“You’re not evil,” Ryker murmured, his breath brushing my ear, making my traitorous heart race.
“Is that why I’m not dead?” I said, glancing over my shoulder, my silver hair whipping around my face.
After a moment, he nodded. “I tried to in the garden, to finish what I’d started, but I couldn’t bring myself to murder an innocent and helpless being. You’re lucky your sister showed up right after you fainted, because I had no idea what to do with you, and your golem were two steps from killing me.”
I’d fainted? That explained a lot. “So, Cassie wasn’t sick?” I glanced back to Coal a few wingspans away. Cassie leaned into the wind, her arms outstretched to either side as Alex held tightly to her waist. As if sensing my gaze, she looked up, her teeth flashing in a brilliant grin. She waved both arms over her head. I hesitantly waved back.
“I guess not. She just came flying over the garden wall on your friend here, and her intended followed on their other beast,” Ryker explained, nodding toward the feisty creature snapping playfully at the wind.
“After calling off the golems, she gave me the option to stay, but we both knew there wasn’t a choice. I would’ve been charged as an accomplice in your disappearance and most likely executed at the very least.”
Probably.
“Did you not want to come?” I asked, hating myself for still being curious about the man who’d wanted to kill me.
“And be stuck with two demon princesses and the idiot foolish enough to want to be bound to one? Where else could I possibly want to be.”
“I’m not a demon.” I scoffed, but stopped when the assassin’s words returned to me.Demon Spawn. “Am I?”
“Do you really not know the answer to that question?” Ryker asked, leaning sideways to peer around my shoulder.