Chapter 22

“What?” I blurt out in complete disbelief, half blinking as my brain catches up and half shocked into numbness. He has his eyes locked on me, standing a foot away, suffocating me with his sheer size, but I stand my ground and do the only thing I can do.

I burst out laughing because he surely isn’t being serious, and this has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Into comical hysterics so intense I instantly bend double as tears fill my eyes, and struggle to breathe through snorts.

It’s not the most ladylike way to laugh at your enemy, but it’s genuine and feels good to do it right in his face. My ribs are aching with the sudden exertion, and he stands stock still, staring at me as though he doesn’t understand the joke, making it all the funnier.

I hear him sigh heavily as I carry on, but he still says nothing at all, and I have to compose myself to be able to talk, standing upright while holding my side. I take shallow breaths to calm myself and wipe m