Page 30 of Crucible
I swear this spoiled, gorgeous, infuriating fucking girl…
“You’re welcome to leave anytime you want,” I lie. “But you won’t get far. Not dressed like that and not without knowing where you’re going.”
“I gotthisfar,” she shoots back.
I can’t argue with her there.
Unless…
She’s not one of Isaac’s, that’s for fucking sure. Aurelia’s no sheep. She’s too headstrong.
But there are some missing parts of her story that could hit us between the eyes later.
While it’s not impossible that she survived that crash, she did with barely more than a few scratches. And then she crossed the Cold Peaks and all of its unforgiving wilds to find us. If Aurelia is who she says, then this pampered princess couldn’t have done it alone.
“And you probably almost died, right?” Khalil points out. “A few times, I’m willing to bet. The only access road into town is already closed off for the season, which means the only way down is on foot or by air, sweetheart.”
“Okay? And?”
Thorin rolls his eyes. “You made a mistake coming this far south. You were closer to town where you crashed. It’s too far to hike in this weather, Aurelia. You’ll die from exposure before you even make it halfway.”
“That’s if the wolves don’t get you first,” I add with no pleasure.
Okay, maybe a little. Anything that binds her to us gives me a sickening amount of gratification. The tighter her shackles become, the more euphoria I feel.
Aurelia’s brown complexion turns a sickly gray at the mention of wolves. She actually looks like she’s going to cry for a moment, but then something happens that feels uncomfortably familiar.
Aurelia rallies, and then her woe is gone in a blink. She’s poised and looking nothing more than put off once more, but the mask doesn’t quite fit.
Yeah, this girl is definitely off her rocker. It’s breathtaking.
“Fine,” she agrees with her nose back in the air. I watch her look around the room and can see the gears turning in her head. “I’ll take this room. I saw the others, and this is the least objectionable.”
My stomach turns as I wonder if the carnage Bane and I left of Zeke’s room is still there.
Thorin cocks his head to the side. “We haven’t decided you can stay yet.”
“But you said—”
“That you need to earn your keep,” Khalil interjects. “Starting now.”
“Fine. So what do you want? Picture?”
“Will you be naked in them?”
“Only in your wildest dreams, pervert.” An uncertain pause follows, and then she asks, “Money?”
“We’re in the middle of nowhere, and unlike you, that’s on purpose,” Thorin points out. “Does it look like we care about money?”
The string of tension between us grows taut, and then Aurelia snaps. “Well, that was a fun game, but I’m over it now, so tell me what the fuck you want already.”
Stepping up to the plate, I ask, “Can you cook?”
Aurelia perks up. “I make an amazing cocktail.”
Thorin sighs like he’s exhausted with her already. “Clean?”
“You’re joking, right? That’s what the help is for.”
