“Well, you are the only person that I play games with. I think I sadly misread what we were.”
“What exactly did you think?”
“I would’ve said that you were my rival. My enemy. But sometimes I felt as if you were my only friend.”
“I do not have friends,” he said. She nodded slowly, the desolation in her eyes puncturing something in his chest.
“No. Of course you don’t. You are... You’re a Viking. A warrior in all things. A man with a code of honor, but...”
“There is no point bringing emotion into anything,” he said.
“Well. That’s a lie. You’re entirely comfortable with anger, which as far as I can tell is essential to men.”
Anger.
The truth of that was a scalding handful of ash pressed hard into his chest.
“Anger is the one emotion that can exist unfettered,” he said. “Anger is clear.”
“You get so angry with me for having been dishonest, but you are lying to yourself. It’s just... It’s an emotion loophole. You’re not cold if you’re angry. Not at all.”
“You speak very confidently of things you do not know,” he said.
She waved a hand. “I know well enough. We watched each other become who we are now.”
“Yes. I suppose that is true.”
“I always thought that you brought me cupcakes because you felt bad about taking that last one. Since it was my birthday.”
“I didn’t know it was your birthday.”
“I didn’t mention it.”
“But you did mention the cupcake often enough.”
“Well, then you started bringing them to me. So it worked.”
“You started craving chocolate the minute you heard my footsteps. Which was more my aim. I found it amusing.”
“Yes. You trained my body to respond to you.”
Suddenly, it was as if she heard the words after they exited her mouth, and she breathed in sharply, her eyes going round.
“Indeed.”
“Well. Hopefully the doctor calls soon. So we can get down to the rest of your threats.”
“You are looking forward to them?”
“What other choice do I have?”
But he could see that there was calculation behind her eyes. Because she was not weak. He could not afford to get caught up in her again. She was a worthy opponent, and he had to not forget that.