Page 102 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
“Will he be okay?”
“Do you care one way or another?”
I shouldn’t, but I did. I didn’t want him hurting because of me.“Do I care because we’re mates?”
“You rejected him,”she reminded me.“You’ll still feel a slight tug because he hasn’t rejected you, but how you feel for him are your own feelings and not some manipulation from your bond. He deserves every emotion you feel toward him.”
Which meant, I still liked him because I liked him. Was still attracted to him because I was attracted to him. Was still drawn to him because I was drawn to him.
But was what he felt a manipulation from the bond that still tethered him to me? Did he not actually like me for me?
I hated how much those thoughts bothered me because I knew that he wouldn’t be attracted to me without the bond. While I didn’t have poor self-esteem, I also knew I shouldn’t have been a blip on his radar. Not just because he was stunning to look at or because he was royalty in his own realm, but because he was Elias. Kind and tenderhearted. Compassionate. He was funny and responsible and loyal and protective. I could call him a liar for hiding the truth, but he hadn’t lied earlier. It would’ve been so easy for him to lie to me, but instead, he’d been honest and owned up to his mistakes.
Mistakes I couldn’t move past and forgive.
“He should reject me as his mate,”I told Nalari.
“He should,”she agreed.
Damn, that hurt. But despite the way my heart cleaved in two, it was the right thing to do. I would never be his, and I didn’t want him hurting over a bond that was forced upon him.
“Talk to him,”I pleaded with Nalari.“Convince him to reject me.”
When the fae moved, Elias growled. From where she flew in the night sky, Nalari growled too. The fae didn’t listen to either of their warnings and brushed himself off when he stood. Elias grabbed his throat and slammed him on the ground.
As Elias towered over the fae, his body rose and fell with each ragged breath he took.
“Have you forgotten who I am?” Elias asked, his body vibrating with barely restrained rage.
The fae spit up at him. “You’re no one here,” he replied. “I answer only to Commander Hudson.”
Elias bent down and, gripping his shirt, tugged him up. “I am your prince,” he roared. “Heir to the throne. It is I who you answer to.” He threw him to the ground, and Elias pushed his knee against the fae’s neck.
My heart stopped. My breathing too.
Elias was going to kill this fae. Someone had to stop him. I had to stop him, but my feet were leaden while the hand that still held Javier’s shook.
Elias leaned down and bit the fae’s neck. Blood dripped from his chin as he spat the male’s blood out.
I stumbled back a step. Pretty sure everyone around me did the same.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt Everly’s hand on my shoulder. I wrapped my fingers around hers, offering as much comfort as she gave.
With a roar, the fae bucked, trying to get Elias off him. Something like a growl came from Elias when he bit the fae again. This time, the fae didn’t move, and I wondered if Elias had killed him.
“He’s still breathing,” Everly whispered.
I noticed the way his chest rose and fell. The way he turned his head to the side.
“Elias is only forcing him into submission,” she continued, keeping her tone low.
I stilled, suddenly wary of Everly.How does she know that?
Atop the fae, Elias spit again, leaving a trickle of blood from his mouth to his chin, and let out his own roar. When he turned to us, Elias glared at the crowd, his eyes black voids with his bloody fangs protruding through the slip of his lips. He pounded a fist to his chest hard.
“It is my demands and orders youobey!”
Nalari’s fire torched the sky, and around me every fae dropped to a single knee and bowed their heads for Elias.
