Page 62 of Magic Betrayed

“I will help you,” she said, her tone and body language equally subdued. “But I will not allow you to hurt my child, no matter what she has done.”

“I have no desire to hurt Chesney,” I replied honestly. “I promised I would help you find her, and that hasn’t changed. I want her to make it home safely.”

“Home.” Talia’s voice broke, and my hunch magic prodded me insistently.

Why hadn’t she gone home? Why was she avoiding everyone who loved her and cared about her?

“Whatever her reasons for all of this might be,” I said firmly, “we’ll do everything we can to make sure you get to ask her.”

The elemental queen stared, as if unsure whether to be shocked or offended. “Call me when you know more,” she said finally, in a stiff, uneasy voice. “I will begin my own search.”

And then she left. The tension in the room seemed to slowly dissolve, and one by one, everyone went back to what they’d been doing.

Ari began to squirm in my arms, so I set her down, and she ran back to her food, fear forgotten. Shane and Rath exchanged quiet words behind me, and after a few more moments, the only one left still watching me was Callum.

Maybe it should have felt awkward, but it was actually more of a relief.

“Are you mad?” I knew he wasn’t. But I didn’t knowhowI knew, so I felt like I needed to say the words out loud.

He shook his head. “I haven’t been mad at you since…” He considered the question for a moment. “Not since the night we met.”

My eyes narrowed. “That can’t be true.”

He shrugged. “I don’t make the rules.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure you do,” I retorted. “And you like it.”

“Okay, sometimes.” His gaze softened. “Raine, I need to know if you’re all right.”

“And if I’m not?” I didn’t even know why I asked. The words just slipped out.

“Then I’ll probably try to fix it.”

He would, too. I knew it with absolute certainty. And I wished hecould. But I didn’t think it was actually possible.

Someday, I hoped we would be at least partially healed. That the things we’d been through would be nothing but proof of our resilience. But only with time. Only with frequent reminders that we were safe and that those around us could be trusted.

But the fear? Would I ever be able to entirely relinquish this feeling that we were constantly in danger?

I couldn’t even begin to consider that until we found Kes and Logan.

“I don’t think you can fix it,” I told him. “But just knowing that you would try…”

I wanted to look him in the eye, wanted to make sure he felt my sincerity, but it was too much. I couldn’t do it and still hold myself steady enough to say what I needed to say.

“It’s enough,” I whispered.

It was so much more than enough. He was the first person besides Kes who hadn’t quit on me. The first person who’d chosen to trust me and never once taken it back. Even when he had every reason in the world to abandon me—like when Faris suspected me of murder—he’d stubbornly decided to believe in me instead.

And that wasn’t even the strangest part. My problems had come close to getting him killed on multiple occasions, and he didn’t seem to care. In fact, last night…

I was suddenly reminded of how last night had ended. With his head in my lap, his hair between my fingers, and the weight of his arm draped over me. An unconscious move on his part, to get closer rather than farther away. A statement of trust, and of…

Of what? What had his touch meant when he asked if I was okay? How was I supposed to interpret his statement that he would choose me over all others to fight beside him?

I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted it to mean. But that didn’t mean that what I wanted was wise. I might be in love with this crazy, stubborn, gorgeous dragon, but what future could we even hope for? Was it worth risking my heart to embrace these feelings, or should I run?

“Don’t run,” he murmured quietly. “Stay.”

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