Once I came within reach of her, Celia raised her hands, dropping the basket of bread she'd been carrying. "Kestra, I'm sorry!" Her eyes were on the knife, though I had yet to raise it. "They forced me--"
"Forced you to what? Wander freely about this town with enough money to buy a new dress and fresh bread? What torture you must have suffered here!"
"I didn't want to betray you."
I snorted. "And I didn't want to be betrayed. So we still have one thing in common."
Gabe had caught up to us now and stood beside us, ready to intervene if a fight broke out. It wasn't necessary. I would never hurt Celia. I only wanted to understand her. And maybe yell a little. Or a lot.
Celia sniffed with sadness. Which might've been genuine humility, but maybe not. When she had screamed out with pain the night my carriage was attacked, she'd obviously been faking because there wasn't a visible scratch on her, and she had just been openly flirting with Gabe.
She could say whatever she wanted. I no longer had any reason to believe her.
Still, she was trying. "I'd been coming to the market here in Silven for weeks before they figured out who I was. I never spoke your name to them before that. I never sought them out."
"So when they asked if you served me, that's when you told them?"
Tears fell onto Celia's cheeks. Also fake, I assumed. "Do you know why I worked for the Dallisors, my lady? My mother was a handmaiden for your mother. She knew things about you, the truth about you, but she never spoke a word of it, except to me. After your mother died and my mother was dismissed, I went to the manager of your father's household--"
"Gerald."
Her hand flew to her throat, apparently surprised that I should know him. "Yes ... Gerald. I demanded money or else I'd reveal your true history. Instead of paying me, he offered me a choice. Either to be sent to Woodcourt's dungeons, or serve you."
The corner of my mouth lifted. "What a terrible choice."
She missed the sarcasm. "It was, my lady. You have a reputation, of being--"
"Charming? Friendly?"
"Difficult." Celia's cheeks reddened. "But then I got to know you, the real you, and changed my mind. You can be nice, if no one tries to control you. And you can be fun, in a why-are-you-always-risking-my-life sort of way." She bit down on her lip, almost ashamed to look at me. "But I never forgot who you are, the kind of person you'll eventually become. So when the Coracks approached me, I listened."
She had intended to make me feel better, but her words stung my heart. "You never thought of me as just me. I was only an enemy waiting to happen."
"It wasn't like that. I told the Coracks where we'd be traveling, and when, but nothing more. They only wanted something retrieved from your home. I wrote the letter to your father, accepting the marriage arrangement, so that he would allow you to return. They swore not to harm you."
"They didn't make that same promise about Darrow." My knife lifted. "Where is he?"
Gabe cut between us. "Don't answer her, Celia. Tenger's orders."
"Celia, where is Darrow?"
She had forgotten how to speak, apparently, and I was running out of time. If she knew anything, I had to make her tell me.
Her mouth clamped shut, and it was a call on my bluff. I lowered the knife, handing it over to Gabe. "You continue to betray me. I might be difficult, but at least I'm loyal. I was your friend, Celia. You never were mine."
She called my name as I turned away, but I didn't look back. There was no point in it. She had betrayed a Dallisor girl who no longer existed. Which meant from now on, she was nothing to me.
Tenger and I made it into Silven just in time to observe Kestra's confrontation with Celia. As he helped me from the cart, he asked, "Is she always like this?"
My grin widened. "Actually, she's quieter than usual today."
Tenger's stare shifted to me, heavy enough that I felt it. When I turned, he said, "I didn't think it would happen to you, Hatch. Not with a Dallisor."
"That what would happen?"
"You're compromised. You have feelings for that girl."
There was no point in denying it. A blind man would've detected a connection between us. "I'm not compromised, Captain. I still believe in the plan."