A Guardian's Fate (Book #2)

Chapter Forty-Five

"Alright," she breathed, walking over to him. "What's going on with you, Hank? Your little note sounded strange and now I can see how fidgety you are." Henry swallowed hard when she halted inches from him.

Her eyes glowed in the dim lighting of the room. And, this close, he could see that there were some gold specks around her pupils. Then he wondered if he had noticed that before. He knew for certain, however, that he'd never paid attention to the dust of freckles on her snub nose that were only a few shades darker than her tan skin.

Haven snapped her fingers in front of him and he blinked numerous times, regaining himself.

She grinned. "Stop staring at me and get talking. I have somewhere else I need to be before I can finally call this a day."

Henry took a sharp intake of breath and nodded.

Well, there was no going back from here.

"Haven, promise me something"—he paused, hesitant to continue.

"C'mon, Hank," she spoke. "Promise you what?"

Henry sighed. "Haven, promise me you are not with those people who attacked us. Promise me that is not the reason you work for Udolf."

Haven's eyebrows shot up. Yet she quickly shook off her shock and laughed lightly. "You are being paranoid."

Henry groaned and moved away from her. "How could you find this humorous? Haven, I am giving you the chance to be honest with me—truly honest! Please don't ruin this." He glared back at her.

Haven squinted at him and folded her arms across her chest. "And what exactly would I be ruining?"

"Please. I want to believe that you aren't that person—"

"No, you don't. Because if I said no, you still wouldn't believe me. You've already made up your mind about me."

Henry dropped his attention to the floor and pursed his lips. "I'm... I'm sorry," he then whispered. "I shouldn't have—"

"Shut up." The sudden sharpness of her tone had him raising his head again. But she didn't appear as furious as she'd sounded.

Haven inched closer to him. "I know what kind of person I am, and I'm aware of what others think of me. And I'm not ashamed of any of that. I would proudly flaunt the things I've done because I have very little regrets. I did what I thought..." she trailed off, averting her eyes.

Softer, she added, "I don't care what people identify me as, because I am essentially everything they say. I won't waste my time proving to them otherwise just to get them to like me. I knew you made your assumptions about me when we first met, and I was fine with that, too. You were just another pathetic royal seeking their escape—their freedom.

"Then you came to me, because you knew what I was capable of and knew you could use that to your advantage. That's what most people do. They use me to get what they need, but I always make sure I get something good in return. And even though you saw me as just a petty criminal, it still felt different—better—than with every other person who's hired me for a job." Haven finally faced him again.

She rolled her eyes, though. "I don't know why I'm wasting my time telling you this or why I even care. I guess when you told me earlier that you—of all people—didn't hate me, I took that as a stupid sign that maybe I could be more than what I make myself out to be."

Despite Henry's mind shouting at him and urging him to assure her that she could be—that she was—more than a petty criminal, no sound came out whenever he opened his mouth.