I can’t make up for what’s already come to pass, but I can avoid dragging you into further peril. We’re closing in on Omen’s captors even as they attempt to close in on us. You’ve assisted us far beyond what I ever would have asked, so I can’t possibly ask for more. When we continue on Meriden’s trail tomorrow, you can go your own way, apart from us.”
Understanding sunk in slowly and then hit me in its final burst like a slap to the face. “What?” I sputtered. “You’re telling me to take off?”
Thorn grimaced. “We would see to it you have everything we can provide that you might need—Ruse should be able to supply you with money and perhaps other resources—and we would ensure that we draw our enemies’ attention to us to give you time to make a clean escape. If that isn’t enough—”
“It’s not about whether it’s enough.” I pushed myself off the bed to face him on my feet, my hands balling into fists at my sides. “Are you fucking kidding me? I lost my apartment, yeah, and lied to my only friends and now have run all over this city with bad guys at my heels, and you think after all that I’m going to throw in the towel and say it was all for nothing?”
The warrior’s expression turned puzzled. “You never intended to find yourself in such treacherous waters.”
“Maybe I didn’t expect exactly this, but I knew there were risks. I saw what happened to Luna because of these sword-star assholes. So what if things have gotten ‘treacherous’? When exactly did I give you the impression that I’m the type to run off with my tail between my legs when the going gets hard?”
Thorn was silent for a moment. “You’re offended,” he said. “You’re angry with me.”
“Yes, I’m fucking angry.” Was there anything nearby I could throw at his somberly stoic face? The lumpy pillow wouldn’t be at all satisfying. “I committed to finding out what the hell is going on, and I’m going to see that through. It isn’t just for you, you blockhead. It’s because of these pricks that Luna is dead. They might have killed my parents too. Who knows how many other people and shadowkind they’ve hurt before then and since? And you really think I’d take the chance to shrug it off and walk away?”
I’d obviously rubbed him the wrong way now and then—it wasn’t as if his attitude hadn’t irritated me often enough too—but I would have thought that by this point he’d believe they could count on me just a little. I’d run when the hunters came for Luna, when it was too late to help her anyway, and it’d killed me doing that. No way in hell was I letting the bastards off the hook now that we had them in our sights.
But he’d really thought I’d accept his offer that I leave. Possibly even expected me to be grateful for it. My teeth gritted.
“That wasn’t how I saw it,” the warrior said stiffly. “I merely was concerned for your well-being and the strain we’ve put on it.”
Since I couldn’t throw anything at him, I set my hands on my hips instead. “Stuff your concern up your ass. I’m not looking the other way while someone’s out there still sticking beings like you in cages and who knows what other horrors, so you can just forget about keeping me out of it. I have helped, and a lot, haven’t I, as inconvenient as this mortal body might be to you all?”
“I would never deny that. We would not have accomplished anywhere near as much in our quest without your assistance.”
“All right. Then assume I’m going to keep assisting, and keep your ideas about what kind of ‘strain’ I can handle to yourself unless I ask for your opinion. Agreed?”
Thorn bowed his head. When he raised it, his lips were twisted at a more pained angle than before. “M’lady,” he said, and seemed to struggle before adding my name. “Sorsha. I apologize. I promise I didn’t intend to insult you, although I see now how insulting my proposition was. I hope you will accept that my misstep was made out of lack of consideration and not contempt for your courage and resilience.”
The flare of my anger simmered down, although I couldn’t tell how much he meant those words and how much he was simply placating me. It was hard to read that ever-solemn voice.
“All right then,” I