CAINE’S P.O.V
I’d always been proud of Nadine, but there was nothing hotter than watching her stand up to Solomon and Sam.
She didn’t even turn back to gauge their reactions before slamming the door to our room shut. I fought back a smile and resisted the urge to follow her and pin her to a wall. Instead, I focused my attention on the two n in front of .
"You know we could always ask Joshua to go with us," Solomon said after a mont of silence. "You two aren’t our only choice."
"Then ask him." I crossed my arms over my chest. "If you had another option, you wouldn’t be here."
He just humd and stood to his feet. "We’ll be in touch."
He walked out without another word, leaving just Sam in my living room. I watched him, waiting for him to stand up and leave too, but for a long minute, Sam just sat there staring at . He didn’t try to initiate conversation, he just remained stoic.
I held his gaze, raising a brow in question, but all I got in response was a slight nod of his head before he finally walked out, slamming the door shut behind him. It was by far the most confusing interaction I’d ever had.
I sat there for a few minutes after trying to figure out what it ant, but I ca up empty.
"Are they gone?" I heard a soft voice from behind and I nodded. "They really need to stop showing up here."
Nadine had changed into a black long sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts. She took the spot next to , crossing her legs in front of her as she stared at the spot that Sam and Solomon had previously occupied.
"Do you think they’ll take our offer?" she asked. "Or will they just cancel the whole thing?"
"Solomon won’t risk looking bad."
"True."
She hesitated for a mont before speaking again. "Do you want to go back out there?"
I didn’t answer imdiately, not because I didn’t know what to say, but because I’d never truly thought about it as a want. I’d lived my entire life alone, I’d spent my whole life surviving and fending for myself, and ever since these monsters were created, I’d been fighting them.
Being out there had always been more real to than being safe.
It should’ve been an easy answer but I couldn’t give it, because I’d co to like the normalcy and the quiet. I enjoyed training with the others not because I had to do so to survive, but because I wanted to. I enjoyed not worrying about whether or not I’d be killed by a monster or punished for doing sothing wrong.
"Does anyone truly want to be out there?" I responded finally and Nadine frowned.
"That’s not what I asked, Rowan." She turned to face completely. "I need you to be real with ."
"I don’t mind being out there. I would just prefer it if you weren’t."
She snorted. "There’s no way I’m letting you go alone. We’re in this together, rember?"
"This isn’t fun and gas."
"It has never been fun and gas. Every single ti we go out there, the risk of us dying increases drastically. It’s always been about survival, Rowan. I know that. I won’t let you be around people that I don’t trust to keep you safe. I need to know that you have soone on your side, even if that person is ."
The corner of my lips tugged up into a small smile. "You’re no longer the spoiled princess I used to guard."
"I was never a spoiled princess to start with."
I hooked my fingers into the waistband of her shorts and pulled her into my side. "Yes, you were."
I placed a lingering kiss on her temple and let her nuzzle into .
For a while, we just sat there, neither one of us speaking. There was nothing more to say to be honest. We were both going, and as much as I didn’t like it, I knew I didn’t have a choice. The only other option was knocking her out and leaving without her, but I knew without a doubt that the mont she woke up, she’d co after us.
"There’s sothing you never told ," she spoke, her voice barely over a whisper. "You wanted to be my guard."
I hesitated slightly. I thought she’d forgotten all about it. "I did."
"Why? I didn’t know you, and you didn’t know . Why would you choose ?"
"I knew you."
"That’s not true. The first ti we spoke was when you told to get the fuck out of your way. I’d never seen you before then."
"Just because you didn’t see doesn’t an I didn’t see you."
She turned to , her brows furrowed in confusion.
I sighed, running my hands down her shoulders gently. I buried my nose into her hair and took a long inhale before I continued speaking.
"The first ti I saw you was in the training center. You were sparring with soone. It was impressive. I saw you again near the kitchens, you were speaking to one of the maids. You were nice to her. It wasn’t sothing I was used to seeing."
I saw her hundreds of tis before we ever spoke for the first ti. I saw her gentleness, I saw her softness, I saw her spark. I saw how much fight she had in her.
"I didn’t know who you were at first until one day, I saw you with him—your father. It felt wrong to see you as his child. He was cruel and you were not."
"But you were an to when we first t."
"Yes, because it was easier to pretend that you were just like him. Perhaps it was my own self-loathing from being my father’s son. I wanted to hate you."
She smiled. "Look how well that turned out."
I couldn’t help but laugh at that.
"I’m glad you asked for ."
Wrapping my fingers around her chin, I leaned down to brush my lips against her. "I’m glad I did too."
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