“I'm not going to be a part of this war you think is coming. You say I should be a weapon, not a pawn- they seem like the same to me. The only difference is who's wielding it.'

'I want your help, not to manipulate you,' he snapped.

His flare of tempter made me at last lift my head. 'You want my help because it'll piss off Tamlin.'

Shadows danced around his shoulders- as if the wings were trying to take form.

'Fine,' he breathed. 'I dug that grave myself, with all I did Under the Mountain. But I need your help.

Again, I could feel the other unspoken words. Ask me why; push me about it.

And again, I didn't want to. Didn't have the energy to.

Rhys said quietly, 'I was a prisoner to her court for nearly fifty years. I was tortured and beaten and fucked until only telling myself who I was, what I had to protect, kept me from trying to find a way to end it. Please- help me keep that from happening again. To Prythian.'

Some distant part of my heart ached and bled at the words, at what he'd laid bare.

But Tamlin had made exceptions- he'd lightened the guards' presence, allowed me to roam a bit more freely. He was trying. We were trying. I wouldn't jeopardize that.

So I went back to eating.

Rhys didn't say another word.”