Page 95 of Devoured
I seize his wrist, however, refusing to let him leave. “Listen to me. I’m a Truthseer. Evie is an Alchemist who should inherit a throne. Portia can grow almost any plant she dreams up, and she’s good at court politics. But we aren’t soldiers. Calix, you’re a General. You’re stronger and faster than anyone else inside—or probably even outside—this castle. We need you. You could help us. You… you could change everything.”
A muscle feathers in his jaw as he glares down at me. “I’m certain you aren’t confessing to treason right now, or implicating others in it.”
“Calix—”
“Because you and Evie hate each other. You almost fought to the death in December.”
Oh. I forgot about that. “Right, well…”
“No more lies, Hart,” he growls, forcing me deeper down the too-narrow beach. He stops near a small wooden shack, where a cluster of moon crabs dances around the carcass of a sea snail. “What the hell are you doing?”
I glance behind me to be certain no one else is around. Of course, there’s hardly space for anyone to hide out here.
“We’re alone,” he says, stern as ever.
I sigh. “Evie and I—there was no way we’d be enemies again. Okay? We just needed to make sure the rest of the castle wouldn’t think we were a threat, so we staged a little fight. You can’t really believe I’d be able to find and turn ghostbane into a poison on my own.”
He snarls. “Little fight? You nearly killed her.”
“We had to make it look real.”
“Vanessa Hart—”
“There’s no reason to use my full name.”
“—you’ve lost your goddamned mind.”
“You already knew I was trying to sabotage Cora,” I hiss. “You must have seen something like this coming.”
He drags a hand down his face. “I could kill you. Do you know that? Right now, with my bare hands, I could throttle you. It would certainly save Cora some time.”
“She murdered everyone. Evie’s family. Portia’s brother. Oona—” I almost can’t say her name. It sounds broken on my lips.
“I know.” Calix begins to pace, as if he can’t remain still for another second, and I watch each step with anxious anticipation.
“Help us, Calix. We need you. I know it won’t bring your mother and father back, but you told me, once upon a time, that you craved vengeance as much as I did. As much as I do.”
He pivots on his heels, his gaze as bright as a blood moon. “And Sin?” he snaps. “What about him? Is he aware that you’re dead set on murdering his mother? Or slaughtering her new pack of werewolves? Because that is the only way this ends. And if he isn’t on your side, then he’s as good as dead too. He’ll fight for her. You know he will.”
I stumble back a step, realizing my error a second too late.
Calix would murder Cora himself, but he’d never be able to watch his cousin die. I swallow hard. “We can convince Sin to join us.”
“So you’ll seduce him? Sleep with my cousin to get him to turn traitor on his own mother?”
My cheeks flush, and it takes everything in me not to throw sand in his face. “Don’t be a dick.”
“That’s it, though. Isn’t it?” He strides closer, trapping me against the shack. His touch burns as he seizes my chin. “You kiss my cousin. You sleep in his bed. And you hope you’re enough to change his mind. But what if you’re not?”
“I… I am. I will be.”
He scoffs, his breath fanning across my face. His nose just barely grazes mine. “You weren’t enough during the winter solstice,” he growls, “and neither was I.”
He holds me there, wooden splinters scratching my spine as his chest rises and falls with inconsolable rage. I glare at him. “We’re supposed to be friends now, Calix.”
His voice is as hot as venom. “You really think we could ever be friends?”
The words hurt. He wants them to hurt. But he’s only lashing out at me because he’s afraid. I saw his memories. I know what he went through.
