Page 101 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
As if he had a choice in how much I despised him.
Lie.
As if I had a choice in how much I didn’t despise him.
“But I can’t leave you,” he continued. “At least not until we figureout who Leanora is.”
From above, Nalari beat her wings and roared. Quiet, he looked up, and I realized he was having another silent conversation with his Guardian.
He sighed, his eyes looking even more tired and his shoulders more rigid. Despite everything, a part of me still felt bad for him and everything he carried. He deserved it, though. Earned it for what he did to us.
“We have to go back to my place,” he said, his tone resigned. “There’s some sort of trouble. I know you don’t trust me anymore.” He paused. “I know I ruined what we could’ve been, but I need to go back before things get any more heated. Can I touch your hand so I can bend us there? I’d rather you not walk the woods at night by yourself, so if you don’t want me to touch you, I’ll stay with you, but we must hurry back.”
Unsure of what was going on, I didn’t have much time to weigh my options. While I didn’t want to touch him, mostly because I still yearned for his touch, I didn’t want to hike the woods alone either. Nor did I want to run through the snow.
With my nerves rattled, I reached for him. He hesitated before his hands captured mine. They were soft and warm and held me perfectly. In a blink, we were by the barbecue pit he’d grilled on earlier.
Elias shoved through the shouting crowd, and although he’d dropped my hand, I followed close. At the edge of the crowd, Javier knelt much like the way he’d been kneeling the night Commander Hudson called us downtown. While I didn’t think he’d been struck with the whip yet, his mouth was swollen and bleeding.
A fae I didn’t recognize paced around him with a whip while Donnie shouted at him. He struck the whip close enough to Donnie that he retreated. Everyone stilled, and the woods grew silent while Javier cowered. I rushed toward him,but Elias stopped me with a hissed no. He nodded toward someone, and it was George who gripped my arms. Growling, I shoved the murderous fae off me, but Elias was quick to grab me again.
“I need to know you’re safe so I can handle whatever’s going on here,” he whispered in my ear.
I rejected the shiver his breath caused when it hit my skin.
“I was safe before you,” I whispered back.
His wince was noticeable, but he still gave Everly a grateful smile when she put her arm over my shoulders.
Elias stalked toward the other fae like a beast approaching its prey. Javier went with George when the fae reached him and together they edged toward us. I grabbed Javier’s hand, positioning myself between him and George. I glared at George until he took a retreating step back.
I looked around the hushed crowd for Victoria, and when I couldn’t find her, I asked Everly if she knew where she was.
“Ryenne took her inside when this male arrived.” She sneered toward the fae. “She’s with Javier’s sisters.”
My shoulders relaxed, but only a fraction. When the fae struck the whip again, this time toward Elias, Elias wrapped the end around his arm and pulled hard enough the fae stumbled forward. Before he had a chance to right himself, Elias kicked his stomach, and he fell to the ground. Elias jerked the whip away from the fae and incinerated it in his bare hands.
“Huh,” Everly said.
Brenton, who was also next to us, nodded. “That’s new.”
“What?” I asked.
“Never seen him burn something with magic before,” he answered.
“He’s never been a rejected mate before,”Nalari said in my head.“Makes it harder for him to subdue his primal instincts.”
I tried to push her out, but she stayed, making my brain feel heavy.
“I rejected him before,”I countered.
“Before, he’d compelled you to reject him, which broke the bond on your end, although not on his,”she explained.“While that rejection hurt him, this is different. This time, you rejected him of your own free will. This time, you rejected him after giving him hope,”she snarled.
It wasn’t free will that made me reject him; it was the need to preserve what was left of my heart. He’d lied to me. Betrayed me. Had done everything to make me fall for him without letting me have the memory he’d stolen from me. Without giving me the truth.
I pressed my unused hand to my chest, wishing I had my blanket to wrap around me instead.“What happens if he can’t subdue his instincts?”
Nalari remained quiet.
