such disdain in his voice, even more than he expresses for me.
I sigh, looking at my hands. My fingers are crooked, broken so many times in my ability training that even skin healers couldn’t fix them properly. “He’s part of the royal line, close to the throne but not close enough for his own tastes.”
A shadow crosses Ashe’s face, even in the bright light of afternoon. “You know him well.”
“I know him well enough.” I shrug, remembering our few bitter encounters. He was quick to reveal himself as a terrible man. “We met a few times, and I found his character lacking.”
“I take it your uncle didn’t agree.”
Scoffing, I shake my head. “Oh, he knows Orrian’s nature. He just doesn’t care.” Next to me, Ashe flushes and I’m surprised. Reds are so strange, so emotional. “Just because you get secondhand news about Silvers doesn’t mean you know how we live.”
He smarts under the jibe, lashing out. “So you murdered six people and ran.”
“Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same?” I hiss at him, knowing the truth. My response is swift and cutting. As my words hang between us, I square to him, raising my chin so I can look him in the eye. Instead of the Red captain, I see six corpses laid out, their faces burned beyond recognition. Magida with them, her body in ashes.
He doesn’t hesitate. Ashe is not one to second-guess himself or his intentions. “I would have done the same.” Then he leans toward me, brave enough to put a finger in my face. As if scolding a child. We’re nearly the same age. “But I wouldn’t drag innocents into it.”
“Really?” I sneer, my voice rising. “And your friend? He’s running guns right now, isn’t he? With passengers on board. You telling me you’ve never done that?” His flush darkens, and I know I’ve scored a point in whatever silly game we’re playing. I keep pressing. “Odd, for a Red to be running guns this direction. The civil war and the Scarlet Guard are behind us.”
The captain doesn’t have a slick or smart response for that. His bravado falters, if only for a second. He probably didn’t even know his friend was running guns west—and therefore running guns for Silvers. Tiraxeans, Prairie lords, maybe even raiders farther west. Selling gunmetal to those who would kill him without blinking.
Perhaps I understand the Red river folk as little as they understand me.
“There’s a difference between us and you,” Ashe finally snaps. “We do what we have to in order to survive, to carve out a life. Not because we don’t agree with which palace we end up living in.”
The words land like a blow from a hammer. I feel them deep in my chest, cracking my heart.
As a child, the first thing my father taught me was restraint. Even young strongarms can kill without control, so I learned early to keep my temper in check. If not for that stern tutelage, I suspect I might slap Ashe across his face and separate his head from his shoulders, or at least his teeth from his jaw.
I manage to hide my sudden rage behind my court mask.
“There’s a difference between us and you,” I force out, repeating his words. “I don’t expect you to understand it, or me.” Then I shutter my feelings, drawing a single, steadying breath. I’ll tell him what he needs to know, to keep us both alive and this keel afloat. “Orrian hunts with his court friends. They’re drunks, fools, noble idiots who take delight in the pain of others. I suspect that’s who he’s with. Their delight in the hunt and their taste for drink is why we aren’t all dead on the river.”
Ashe frowns. “Yet.”
“Yet,” I concede. I drag another hand through my hair, then tie it back into a quick tail. Better to keep it out of my way. Ashe watches me as I move, assessing me like the threat I am. I match his stare. “You really think you can lose him?”
I haven’t been on the keel long, but I doubt its top speed can outrun a prince. And we are on a boat, after all. It severely limits our path.
Despite my misgivings, Ashe seems to inflate. This is his domain, and he knows it well. “I think men like him are cowards deep down, and he won’t chase you beyond the safety of his own kingdom.”
“Normally, I’d agree,” I say. “But Orrian is proud. And losing me wounds his pride.