Page 77 of Too Dangerous To Die

His voice grounding me.

The kiss that shattered whatever grip Medea thought she had.

“I’m not her,” I say. “And I’m not you either, Rhaegar. I can’t always fight the way you do. Sometimes I have tounderstand. Even if it means getting close to the edge.”

He steps closer, breath brushing my cheek. “Just don’t fall off it.”

My voice lowers. “Not if you catch me.”

For a long time, he says nothing.

Then he exhales. “We’ll figure this out. But we do ittogether. And if she tries to take you?—”

“She won’t,” I say fiercely. “She doesn’t get to win. Not this time.”

He stares at me a moment longer, then finally nods.

And behind us, the spire pulses again.

Alive.

Waiting.

And bound to me.

37

RHAEGAR

The air around the artifact hums like it knows we’re about to destroy it.

Nora stands in front of it, her hand still faintly glowing with the aftershock of the translation. Her expression is unreadable. Still. Too still.

It unsettles me.

I’m standing only a few paces behind her, blades at the ready, every muscle tense with unspoken anticipation. This thing—this prison—has been the root of too much. And the moment she understood what it truly was, I thought the decision would be easy.

But she hasn’t moved.

Hasn’t said a word.

The spire pulses in quiet defiance, veins of red and gold pulsing through obsidian. A heartbeat. A breath. A tether to something thatwants to be free.

I move toward her cautiously. “Nora?”

She doesn’t turn. Doesn’t blink. Her head tilts ever so slightly to the side, as if listening to something only she can hear.

“I know what it’s doing,” I say, louder now. “It’s whispering to you again. You have to fight it.Youhave to be the one to end this.”

She finally speaks, but her voice is strange—soft, cold. “She says… if we keep it, we don’t have to fight anymore. We couldrule. Together.”

My blood runs ice-cold.

Not because of what she says.

But because I see it—her eyes.

Not blue. Not gold.

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