Page 72 of Dominion

“I know what you’re trying to do, Ash,” Casimir mumbled, coming closer to me. “I get it. I might not understand it, but I get it.”

He was inches away from me, his eyes filled with the understanding he was talking about.

“What are you talking about?” I feigned ignorance, not wanting to admit the truth. But Casimir didn’t mind kicking people when they were already down and leaning into my ear so that no one else could hear, he froze my blood, making it feel as if he was kicking me straight in my gut.

“He’s not coming back, Ash, and that’s not me gloating or trying to be an asshole. He made his choice.” He pulled back, looking down at me. “But now you need to make yours. Are you going to keep fighting for people who don’t want it, or are you going to fight for those who do?”

Skylar was looking at us, equal parts worried and pissed, and I knew he was right. God, I hated that he was right, but I couldn’t abandon Dylan. I couldn’t let it go like this. I wouldn’t let him break us like this.

“What I do or why I do it is none of your business, Cas,” I gritted out. “All you need to do is tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”

He took a step back, scanning me from head to toe, shaking his head as he did. Deep inside, I knew he was more than right. He had a point, but I was stubborn. I never wanted to listen, and I refused to give up on the people I loved no matter how angry they made me feel. Dylan wouldn’t have given up on me either. He would’ve fought tooth and nail to get both Skylar and me back.

“Tonight,” Casimir said. “We’re leaving tonight at six.”

And that was it. He left the room without looking at me, along with Hunter and the rest of his men. But I only had eyesfor Skylar and I knew that there would be hell to be paid, or at least I expected it.

What I didn’t expect was for her to get up and come to me, wrapping her arms around my middle, and pressing her cheek to my chest.

“I understand why you’re doing this, but I need you to come back to me. I need you to be safe.”

“I will be. I promise.”

She pulled back, looking up at me with a sad smile on her face. “Don’t make promises you might not be able to fulfill, Ash. Don’t ever do that to me.”

“Moonshine—”

“Just tell me you’ll try. Tell me you’ll try to not get yourself into stupid situations and if you see him…” She didn’t have to clarify whohimwas. “I don’t want you to bring him back. I don’t ever want to see his face.”

If she had slapped me, it would’ve hurt less.

“Sky—”

“I love him.” She sniffed. “I will always love him, but this isn’t love. What he did isn’t love, and I am tired of wasting time on people who don’t want me in their life.”

I didn’t say a word—I couldn’t. She was hurt and angry, but I wouldn’t give up on him. I wouldn’t give up on us. Instead of answering and arguing about that sentence, I hugged her tight, hoping that at the end of the day, we would all be back together.

24

SKYLAR

Hours feltlike days when you had to stay behind and wait for any news to come.

I didn’t even try suggesting for me to go with them, to the warehouse, where Belladonna and Judah were hiding. I didn’t trust myself yet to be strong enough to be there and not do something stupid, which would only jeopardize the entire operation.

But it sucked having to stay behind, sitting alone in the dark and waiting for the call to come.

I had no idea how many times I touched the screen on my phone, willing for at least a message to pop up, to tell me that they had them, that it was over. That I could finally breathe, that we could be done with this insanity. But the only thing I saw when I once again touched my screen was 4:00 a.m. in bold white letters, and the background picture of Ash, Dylan, and me that I took while the two of them slept.

They had no idea it existed, and I still couldn’t bring myself to change it, even though it only reminded me of what we had lost.

I wasn’t lying when I told Ash not to bring Dylan back if he was there. I wasn’t sure how I would react if I saw him again,but the moment those words came out of my mouth, I regretted them. I wanted him back.

Deep inside, buried underneath all the anger I felt, my love for him still existed and I had no idea if I wanted to cherish it or if I wanted to erase it altogether. But no one ever told you that love wouldn’t stop the moment that person did something that should make you hate them.

And I couldn’t hate Dylan.

I had spent hours since we came home trying to convince myself that all I felt was hatred toward the blond-haired boy who had lived with monsters longer than I had, but I couldn’t. All I found was an endless amount of anger, but I didn’t know where it was directed.

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