Page 27 of The Never List
“Jax,” Kal chides. “You know full well it isn’t exact. Of course she’s going to have secrets—reservations, even.”
Relief barrels through me. Jax can tell I’m hiding something but not what. “I’m telling the truth,” I say again.
“But not the whole truth,” Jax says, retrieving his blade and pointing the tip at me. The move should elicit fear or anger, but for the life of me, I only want him to keep looking at me like that.
Goddess, I really am mad. I’ll never be able to win them over if I can’t even keep myself in check.
“That mouth,” Jax continues. “That’s what got you here in the first place.” His voice is low and rough. Everything narrows until it’s just the two of us, caught in each other’s eyes. “Speak the rest.”
There is no room for refusal in his demand. “One king tried.”
Jax falls back in his seat, letting out a rush of air. He turns his blade end over end, disappointment and a hint of that chaotic rage I saw earlier coloring his features. “Baydel.” He drags out the name in a statement, not a question.
“You fended off Baydel?” Axl asks, leaning over the table toward me. He’s amused. Maybe even impressed. Good. I need more of that and less of whatever Jax is giving me.
“For the most part,” I admit.
“How?” Pierce asks, unbelieving. He seems to be more inclined toward Jax’s mood, which issonot team Rylee. I’m not offended by how surprised he sounds or how shocked they all look. I don’t blame anyone who couldn’t successfully deny the kings, but I am sad for them. I’m more pissed that they chose me and now they’re practically interrogating me like I’m the villain—well, Jax and Pierce, anyway. Fuck them both, then.
I take another sip of my drink. “I told him Jax would carve him to pieces for touching me.” I spare a look at Jax, who fiddles with his blade. “I reminded him Kal nearly ripped off an enforcer’s arm for merely touching me roughly.” I turn to Kal, and he nods his affirmation. “I assumed you two would do the same if they took me without my permission.” I motion to Pierce and Axl.
“You’re fucking right about that.” Axl shakes his head. “Pricks.”
“Do the others normally…consent?”
“You shouldn’t judge them for it,” Pierce says in his matter-of-fact tone. “Anyone who stands against our fathers usually doesn’t live to see another dawn.”
I raise my eyebrows, shocked at the blatant truth. I assumed the princes of Lumathyst would be on the side of the kings. Maybe they are, for the most part, but don’t mind calling them out when needed.
“I would never judge them,” I say a bit too harshly. “Ifthe previous potentials consented to it, more power to them. But I will blame the ones responsible if the potential said no and the kings forced their hand.”
“Easy,” Axl warns, but the corner of his mouth is turned up. “Walls have ears here.”
I clear my throat, flashing him a grateful look for the heads-up. “Well, I don’t need anything in that regard,” I say to Kal, circling back to his original question. “But I will eventually need to change out of this dress.”
Axl and Kal laugh, breaking the tension, and I try not to get hung up on the fact that Jax and Pierce are still looking at me like I’m the enemy.
Kal relaxes his fist on the table. “Like I said, everything you need will be provided.”
I think about my sister, wondering if all I have to do is ask and they’ll use their status and wealth to find her for me. I shoot down the idea just as quickly. No way can I trust them with my greatest weakness.
“Where are you from?” Axl asks. Such a casual question after such a serious conversation.
“Cedar and Silk. I’m a dyer.” The lie tastes especially bitter now that I know Jax and Pierce are analyzing everything I say.
“A lottery winner, then,” Pierce says with what sounds like disappointment. “Such slim odds.”
“Is that all you do?” Kal asks, not suspiciously, but like he’s genuinely interested in my life. It may be an act, but I soak it in, allowing his calm, kind demeanor to ease some of the tension rattling through me. In this chaotic storm of a conversation, Kal is a welcome lighthouse.
“I also procure things,” I answer, sticking to half truths.Pairing lies with truths may be the way to shake off the Nightmare’s intense study. In the Ashlands, Iama procurer. One of the oh-so-lucky assignments that have me breathing dust and ash all day, searching for rare jewels or minerals for the royal cities. Funny that we’re considered the lowliest of the cities when our lands are rich in the resources that supply the wealth of Lumathyst. “Valuable materials for my mistress.”
I try to give them just enough to be satisfied with my answer without intriguing them so much that they’ll start digging for more.
“When I called your number,” Jax says, “you hugged two women. Who are they to you?”
Goddess, I don’t want to tell him. I don’t want them to know Ivy and Layce exist in case this blows up in my face in the end.
“My friends,” I say.
