Page 83 of The Rogue's Curse

Staring into those warm eyes, Paris felt like the world had disappeared. Of course Misha was his soulmate. Why else would he feel so safe? Who else could have sliced through decades of scar tissue and stone walls, laid him bare, and left him feeling warm and safe instead of naked and afraid?

But he had lost so much. He had lost his family. His peace. His sleep. His leader. His refuge. And now, perhaps the most precious man he’d ever met dangled in front of him, and the realization that he could lose Misha was enough to make him lose his mind.

All the others had survived. What if he was the one to fail the test, to be found utterly wanting? What if he lost Misha? What nightmare would Armina’s curse inflict on such a precious man?

“I’m afraid,” Paris admitted. “Afraid I’m not good enough for you. I’m afraid something will happen to you, and that I won’t be strong enough to protect you.”

“First of all, you are more than good enough for me,” Misha said, shaking his head. “God, I wish you saw yourself the way everyone else does. Furthermore,nothing will happen to me. I appreciate that you’re protective, but I’m capable of defending myself. You know that, don’t you?”

“I do, but you’ve never been cursed, have you?” Paris replied. “We don’t know how bad it could be.”

Misha chuckled. “Paris, are you telling me that you, of all people, will run from this so you don’t get hurt?”

“So you don’t get hurt,” Paris said.

Misha shook his head. “All of your fretting aside, is there anything at all you can do about it? Does fate have a thirty-day return policy?”

“No,” he admitted.

“And if you could break this connection, would you give me up?”

“No,” he said, barely giving Misha a chance to finish speaking.

A bright smile crossed Misha’s face. “Then it’s settled.”He grabbed his phone, fired off a text, and said, “Shoshanna’s going to figure this out.”

“Wait!” he spluttered. “What are you doing?”

“Being decisive, since you won’t,” Misha said. He gently took Paris’s hand. “What if you could finally sleep? I want you to have that.”

He stared at Misha, torn between hope and despair. Life was difficult, but there was a certain comfort in his isolation, in holding everyone at arm’s length. He was ill-prepared to care for Misha, to carve out a life that was worthy of such a bold, brave man. He could fight, but what would happen if they survived long enough to know peace?

Shoshanna rapped on the door, and Misha said loudly, “Come in.”

Her eyes drifted to Paris. “Are we all okay?”

“We’re okay,” Paris said weakly.

Fucking terrified.

She smiled, then let out a little squeal. “I’m so happy for you! Oh, Allie is going to flip out,” she said. “He suspected it too. So did Olivia.”

Paris groaned. “Is there a betting pool or something?”

She laughed lightly. “Gentlemen’s bets only,” she said seriously. Her eyes scraped over him. “I would love it if we could do this before we take on Shea. Both of you would be stable and healthy, instead of going in at a disadvantage.”

“Let’s do it,” Misha said. “What do you need from us?”

“I mostly need Paris,” Shoshanna said.

“I told you that you’d eventually come around,” he quipped.“Now it’s too late.”

She rolled her eyes and said, “I’m going to study and map your curse. Fortunately for you, I already have most of it done.”

“You do? Have you been spying on me, little witch?”

Her eyebrow arched. “When all this began, I didn’t know about the soulmate thing. I was trying to free Lucia, so I studied Alistair to understand the curses better. And you let me look at you for another reference. Remember?”

“I did,” he murmured. “That was quite terrible, as I recall. Madame Fate is a tricky minx, is she not?” He’d seen hallucinations, barely resisting the urge to throw Shoshanna away from him. Worse still, the effort had exhausted him and left him barely able to stay awake for days. It had been like hovering over shark-infested waters, just barely conscious.

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