Page 91 of Of Bargains & Betrayal

A few strides cleared me the rest of the way to Enora’s door—her suspiciously quiet one, at that—and I gave its handle the lightest test I could. Of course, the bolt was locked.

“Miss Wynn?” Trying to keep my voice level and calm, I gave the door a light knock. “Are you in there?”

More silence. What a surprise. She always could have taken off through her balcony, but it was a hell of a drop to the ground, and I’d cross that bridge of thought only when necessary. Of the more likely options, she was ignoring me.

“Enora?” I shouted this time, rapping my knuckles firmly on the door. “Let me in so we can talk about this.”

The unnerving silence persisted, and I couldn’t figure out why the fuck it made me so uneasy. I’d have to mull that over later, or never, probably when I also considered my next choice of words too.

“Please, Enora,” I sighed.

I raised my hand to knock again, but the door cracked open before my knuckles met the wood.

The princess looked like fresh hell raked over the coals a few times. She’d clearly done little other than cry since she’d torn out of the training arena, with how bloodshot and irritated her eyes were and the rubbed-raw state of her nose. She had a scab on her lip too that lent itself well to her chewing right through it. And that was just from the half-foot view I got.

“Oh, now it’s Enora, is it?” she barked through the barely open door. “It’s Miss Wynn when you think you’ve got leverage, but I get the luxury of being called by my fucking name when you come crawling back here like a wolf with its tail between its legs?”

Oh, Mina help me with this woman. I took a slow, grounding breath before I diverted and said, “We need to talk.”

“Like hell we do,” she seethed. “You and Kieran can take your talking and your catching up and shove it up your asses. Take that traitorous fucking sprite with you too.”

She moved to slam the door in my face, but I inserted myself in its path, letting out a grunt as I became trapped between the panel, the frame, and one incredibly pissed-off woman.

“Get out, Maksym.” She leaned all her weight into clearly trying to crush me with the door. Her next words came grunted with exertion. “I have no interest in talking. To. You.”

Endearing but futile attempt.

I was already halfway into the room and, as much as I was sure she didn’t want to admit it, I had an undeniable advantage in strength. There was also the entire business of magic, but rubbing that in her face now seemed like it might do more harm than good. Wrapping my fingers around the door panel, I gave it a solid shove and sent a blanket-wrapped Enora stumbling back into her room. To her credit, she came charging right back at me, but not before I’d already shut the door and leaned back against it.

“Sorry, Miss Wynn,” I grunted as the heel of her palm made incredibly solid contact with my solar plexus, sending most of the air out of my lungs. I winced, grabbing her as she went to do it again. “Go sit, please, and let’s talk.”

“Oh, so I’m back to being Miss Wynn now?” she scoffed as she dropped her hand. “What kind of leverage could you possibly think you⁠—”

Her jaw slackened. Enora glanced at her bargain-marked palm, and her hazel eyes flickered back up to me with an extra measure of anger blazing in them.

“Are you going to compel me to do whatever you want, just like you did to Kieran? Is that all this is?” She held up her palm and looked at it with disgust. “Some fucked-up way to control people? Get what you want out of them? Does it even hold you accountable for anything at all?”

With the rate Enora was spiraling, I not only needed to handle this conversation delicately, but quickly.

“Our bargain is not like that at all,” I said. “And it is impossible to create a bargain without dual responsibility. They are all made in Mina’s name, and she would never allow it otherwise.”

Her eyes narrowed, and I didn’t have a tangible way to prove my truth. “So I’m supposed to believe it’s just Kieran who has the pleasure of being at your irrefutable beck and call, and that I, an alleged criminal, who was given no choice but to enter this bargain for my life, wasn’t screwed over like that?” She scoffed. “Right.”

“I promise you that’s true. But it’s not just Jas—Kieran. It’s my entire Elixia.” Gesturing over to the small sitting area by the hearth, I forced on a pleading smile. “Can we sit, please?”

In complete contradiction to how she shook her head at me, Enora tightened the blanket around her shoulders and trudged over. She dropped into the furthest armchair and cut into me with a gaze as sharp as fucking daggers as I walked over. I put an entire sofa between us, taking the opposite chair. Just in case.

I braced my elbows on my knees, steepling my fingers under my chin and sighed. “I want you to know I didn’t expect you to find out under such…hostile circumstances.”

An indignant snort clawed out of her. “Really? I never would have guessed. And what about last night? Was that unexpected hostility too, or did you intend on being a complete asshole right out of the gate and ruining any intent I had on trying to make this somewhat hospitable?”

Mina. Help. Me. I closed my eyes and took a slow breath before turning my attention back on the absolutely stewing, blanketed bundle of a princess. “That was not planned, no. I had the same intention, I assure you⁠—”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“—and it was because of what happened last night that I thought you should know the truth. Eilir’s slip-up only expedited the inevitable. You were so convinced the only thing to come out of this would be you having your heart broken and your soul crushed in some terrible place where no one cares about you. And I couldn’t exactly blame you for that, given everything so far, but…”

“But?” she hissed.