A Promise of Fire (Kingmaker Chronicles, #1)(80)

Griffin frowns. “It’ll have to wait. I’m going away.”

“Fantastic!” I force an exaggerated smile, my stomach suddenly off-kilter.

“Cat…” A growl starts deep in his throat.

“We have everything Cat needs here,” Nerissa cuts in, putting a stop to what would likely become a thundering argument. “The previous royals had enough clothing to last a lifetime.”

I’m sure that’s true, but I need real clothes, like pants, which I’m pretty sure the former princesses never wore. But that’s an argument for another day. “I’ll stay at the barracks,” I say, coming back to the original point. “But thank you for the offer.”

“I’ll still set aside some nightclothes for you,” Kaia promises cheerfully.

I’m surprised when Kato and Flynn enter the dining room before I leave. “Take Cat back with you,” Griffin orders. “And, Cat, lock your door.”

There’s no chance of that. If I do, Kato and Flynn can’t get in, and I’ve gotten used to them tackling me in the middle of the night and patting my head. “I don’t need an escort. This is ridiculous.”

“Follow your orders.” Griffin’s tone is brusque, his attention on Kato and Flynn. “Be ready at dawn. We leave for Ios in the morning.”

We do? “Good. Panotii needs the exercise. And why didn’t anyone tell me we were leaving for the healing center site?”

Griffin glances my way. “Not you. You’re staying here.”

“What? Why?”

“You’ll be safer.”

“No!” Something close to panic rises in me. I don’t understand it. I don’t know where it’s coming from. And I don’t like it.

Irritation flashes in his eyes. “Stop arguing about everything. It’s infuriating.”

I blink, surprised. How dare he order me around? Me! “You can’t—”

“I can, and I will,” he cuts me off.

“You arrogant son of a Cy—”

Griffin latches his hand around my wrist and jerks me toward him. “You were saying?” he asks coolly.

Sparks erupt from my nostrils, singeing his tunic. My eyes follow a glowing ember to his throat with its hard, lean lines, corded muscles, and masculine hollow. Flush against him, it’s hard to hold on to my anger. Awareness flares at every point of contact, kindling a foolish, fevered craving.

There’s a subtle increase in the pressure around my wrist. I jerk my eyes up. “I was saying I’ll enjoy feeding your eyeballs to Cerberus one of these days.”

Griffin’s mouth twitches. He lets me go.

I don’t rub my wrist. I refuse to rub my wrist.

“Do you need us both?” Kato asks.

Slowly, deliberately, Griffin turns to him. “Why do you ask?”

“Someone should stay with Cat.”

Griffin’s eyes spark dangerously. “She can handle whoever hit her.”

“Someone should still stay,” Kato insists.

Griffin sweeps me behind him, his voice dropping to a low growl. “Why? Do you want it to be you?”

Kato glances at me. I shake my head. Our exchange is subtle, but Griffin still notices. His hands ball into fists. He looks ready to use them.

Flynn mutters something unintelligible and steps between them. “Because she screams bloody murder every night and is terrified of being alone.”

My jaw drops. “Flynn!”

Griffin gives me a sharp look. “Why haven’t I heard about this?”

“You saw for yourself,” Kato says. “Before we got here.”

Griffin frowns, shaking his head. “It happened a few times. Not more.”

Flynn sighs. “That’s because she was almost always with y—”

I dart around Griffin and punch Flynn in the kidney. He grunts and stops talking, but it’s too late. Everyone knows what he was going to say. Griffin looks nauseatingly gleeful, and every member of his family suddenly has a hideous gleam in their eyes. I hate them all.

Well, maybe not the girls.

Or the parents.

Or anyone, really.

Gods! What is wrong with me?

Piers, who rarely speaks or pays attention to the usual bickering says, “She can stay in the castle.”

I groan. “We just had this conversation.”

“If you have nightmares, you can stay with me,” Jocasta offers. “My bed is big enough for at least four Flynns.” She glances at the auburn-haired warrior and then blushes kalaberry red.

“No.” I shake my head, turning to Griffin. “I could kill her before I even woke up.”

“Stay in my room.”

“What? No!”

His generous mouth lifts in a sly smile. “See if it helps.”

“Absolutely not!”

“It wasn’t a request.”

“You don’t own me!”

His voice deepens, making me shiver. “Ownership isn’t what I’m after.”

“It’s useless,” I croak. “Give up.”

Griffin pins me with a steady gaze. “Never.”

My insides somersault, drop, and combust. Never give up on me? Does he mean that? “Why? I’m not that pretty, I’m a huge pain in the ass, and people around me usually die.”