The Wicked Born

Chapter 13

"Nothing is clouding my judgement," Dacre seethed, turning to meet all the resolute stares that were facing him. He finally turned to face Tabitha again and took another step forward. Only about one foot separated the witch and the man. The air surrounding them seemed to be charged with an entirely different emotion now. Dacre's face momentarily dropped its furious expression and his right hand raised, as if it was going to touch her with a mind of its own, before he quickly dropped it to his side again. A small flush crept up his features. "I know that castle like the back of my hand. I could get you in and out of there within minutes."

"Yes, because one face that's plastered all over wanted posters throughout the kingdom inside of the castle isn't enough," Ellias snarked, sweeping a hand in Tabitha's direction. "Why not add the King's son in there, too? It's not like we don't want to be recognized or anything."

Dacre pulled his eyes away from Tabitha's and shot Ellias a menacing glare. Ellias hissed in a breath, no doubt to send another scathing retort to the man in front of her, but Tabitha raised an open palm to the warlock, effectively silencing him. Tabitha could feel the anger coiling off of his straightened form from being bossed around, but she didn't have time to referee a pissing contest between the two.

"If your knowledge of the landscape is as good as you say it is, then you can draw me a map of the castle beforehand. Ellias and I will memorize the layout and you can stay safely on the outside. You can tell us about the King's guard and all other things we need to know before entering." It took all of her effort to keep her own composure when she watched as Dacre's features fell.

The plethora of emotions that flashed through his gorgeous green eyes told her every little detail that he was thinking. The hurt that crossed his irises told her that he thought that she believed him to not be an important part of the mission, or that he was weak and incapable of taking care of himself in dire situations. In truth, neither of those were true. His cooperation and knowledge would be invaluable if she had any hope of this going smoothly. And if the way that he'd fought her after she'd first kidnapped him was any indication, then she knew that he'd be able to take any mortal that crossed his path. However, an ice-cold terror filled her veins as she pictured Dacre coming face to face with the other red witch that King Rossford had employed for his war's arsenal. She tightened her fists to keep from exploding at the mere thought of it.

Tabitha's throat tightened as she realized that she could say nothing to appease the wounded feeling he had. If she gave Dacre even the tiniest bit of indications that she believed he could, indeed, be a larger help inside of the castle walls, then she knew that he would stand his ground on the issue. She had to let him believe that she didn't trust him. She couldn't allow herself to put him in harms way. She wouldn't.

Ellias shot her a confused look that she caught in her peripheral vision, but she ignored it. He was probably sensing the fleeting emotions that crowded Tabitha despite the neutral facial expression that she held throughout the inner turmoil.

"Ellias is right." Tabitha nearly choked on the words, each one leaving her mouth a little more sour as it passed over her tongue. She sent up a silent prayer that Dacre would simply take her words in stride and back down before she forced herself to persevere. "Adding a human to the rescue would only slow us down. I will not put a life unnecessarily in danger. This is my sister. My sister, my rescue, my responsibility."

If the look of pure rage on Dacre's face told her anything, it was that her prayer that he take her words in stride went unanswered. Tabitha bit back a joyless laugh as she reminded herself that the god of death didn't exactly care whose feelings his vessel had hurt.

"You lost the right to say that I have no place in this rescue the second you kidnapped me and dragged me into this mess," Dacre spat through gritted teeth at the witch. Tabitha couldn't help the involuntary wince that wracked her body when she heard the venom in his words, making it perfectly clear just how much what she'd said had hurt him.