Deadwater Kings • Part I ✓

24. BURY THE HEART

She barely kept herself from raking her nails across her scalp again, reluctant to disturb her braid. She was going to see a King, after all.

Lin breathed out the rotten air. "What'm I doing?"

What she was told, she supposed. Her jaw ached as she clenched it. No, she was going to kill Mara because she was pissed and wanted someone – a lot of someones – dead.

A soft tap broke her loop.

Hadrian stood at the door. She hadn't even heard him open it, hadn't heard him approach. Lin's book dangled from his fingertips as he watched her, expression unreadable.

"Can't a girl get any privacy around here?"

He ignored it. "What's wrong?"

Not even an attempt at pleasantries, then. Lin rolled her eyes and stood up. "Nothing, piss off."

He nodded, then proceeded to not piss off. He tucked her book under his arm and walked over, shutting the door as he did, and stopped a few feet away from her. Hadrian looked her up and down.

"If you don't want to – "

"Oh, fu – " she cut herself off. Grimaced. "It's fine. It's nothing. I already decided, anyway."

He lifted an eyebrow. She could practically see the gears turning behind that impassive face of his, searching Lin's for a hint of her thoughts. Before he could ask anything else, she scrambled for something to distract him.

"Do you trust Cortez?"

He blinked. "Why?"

"Just answer."

His black eyes flicked down, thinking. His thumb brushed across the spine of his borrowed book, and Lin couldn't quite figure out why it took him so long to answer until he spoke: "He doesn't trust you. By extension he doesn't trust me when it comes to you, and we can't trust him in return."

Lin nodded. She'd thought so.

"He won't hurt me on purpose, though," Hadrian continued. "You can trust that, if nothing else."

She snorted. "What makes you say that?"

He shrugged. "A feeling. Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," she said, leaning back against a stack that she really shouldn't be leaning back against. Stale air and dust wafted down around her. She blinked against it.

"Do you trust me?"

That was unexpected. Lin considered just saying yes and being done with it, but that wasn't realistic. "Wow, insecure much?"

"Yes, actually." Damn, right. She'd forgotten he actually had issues, too.

"I like you well enough," Lin said. "You're a good friend."

His eyebrow lifted again, a bemused smirk coloring the expression. "Wow. Positively glowing remarks, my self-esteem is saved."

Lin melted into a smile. "Aw, your sarcasm's getting better."

"Did it ever need improving?"

"Okay, stop – we're good, we get it." She hadn't stopped smiling. Hadrian's nose wrinkled and he shrugged.

"Oh, Razo did send me down for a reason," Hadrian said. "We're getting close, so if you've got to get ready you should do it now."

"There a reason he sent you instead of coming himself?"

Hadrian shrugged again. "I'm the charming one."

By that Razo probably meant Hadrian was less likely to get his head bitten off if Lin happened to be in a mood. Which was true. Hurtful, but true. She'd either have to apologize to the old man or give him a good kick at some point.