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Even if he is behaving like an insufferable bastard.
“When your father found me, I was unable to speak. I was dehydrated, starving, exhausted, and couldn’t answer their questions. After a few days of that, I realized that if I wanted to survive, I needed to stop them from asking things I really shouldn’t answer. So, I let everyone believe I was a mute.”
“What questions were you so afraid to answer?”
Straight to the point was always Bowman’s style, so I really shouldn’t be surprised. And if I didn’t want to get to Carleah as quickly as possible, I might have tried to push off answering him. But my desire to see her outweighs my self-preservation. “All of them,” I reply. “From where I was from to why I was in Navalis.”
“Then let’s start with where the hell you came from?”
“Not until I see Carleah.”
Bowman shakes his head. “There’s not a chance in hell I’m letting you see her now. Not until I get answers.”
“Then you won’t get any.” I cross my arms.
“I am your king.”
“And I have been nothing but loyal to Navalis from the moment I stepped foot onto your land. You owe me this much.”
“You lied to me, took advantage of my sister, and convinced her to break a betrothal that had been in place for over a decade. It is you who owes me for not killing you where you stand.”
“Go ahead and try,” I growl. “We both know you’re no match for me.”
Bowman takes a step back as though I struck him. “Do you truly want to make an enemy of me?”
“Are you going to continue keeping me from Carleah?”
Our gazes hold. One man determined to get answers. Another desperate for a single look at a woman he never should have had a chance with. Finally, Bowman breaks his gaze with me to move toward the tent entrance. He leans out and orders, “Let her in.”
Seconds later, Carleah walks in.
Breathing becomes easier at the mere sight of her. That is until I note the hardened expression on her face. She keeps a few feet of distance between us, and I cross my arms to keep from reaching for her.
“There she is. Now, talk, or I’ll have the guards remove her.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she says. “How do you feel?”
“Better.”
“Fort,” Bowman snaps.
Reluctantly, I tear my gaze from Carleah and focus on her brother. “I’m from Nemoregno,” I tell him. “My father was a tribal leader there, and he ordered me to go into the Phantom to steal the prized daughter of Navalis.”
Bowman’s expression morphs from anger and frustration to blood-thirsty rage. He rushes toward me, but Carleah moves between us and throws up both of her hands. “Get the hell out of my way,” he growls.
“Not until you hear him out. There’s more to the story than that.”
He glares down at her. “You knew?”
“Do you really want to pit what I knew and kept from you against what you knew and kept from me?” she retorts. “Because I guarantee you come out looking worse in that scenario, Brother.”
Before I can demand what it is he kept from her, Bowman backs off, taking a few steps away from me.
“Continue,” he orders.
I swallow hard. No matter what I say, I do not come out looking good. And while I never would have thought Bowman to be a close match to his father, now I worry I misjudged him. Is it possible there is no coming back from this?
