Page 31 of Claim the Twilight
But that would be selfish. It would be cruel.
He’d opened his heart and told me what he needed from me to do what he felt he needed to do. I would respect his wishes.
For now.
“I’ll go. But I want you to know something. If it was me…If I was Plan B, then I’d want to spend every moment I could with the people I loved.” My throat pinched, and I blinked back tears.“I’d want to take those memories with me because those would be the memories I’d be dying for.”
I slipped quickly from the room, needing to get away before I lost my composure. He didn’t need the weight of my emotions on his shoulders. What he needed was an alternative.
I hurried down the corridor to the main stairs. Everything hinged on finding the entity and finding out if it could help us stop Loviator. My focus would have to be on that.
Hemlock might be ready to die, but I wasn’t ready to lose him.
Not now. Not ever.
Ezekiel,Ordell, and I left Lorenzo and Holly working on wards for the castle and headed to New Town. Apparently, there was energy in the earth that Lorenzo and Holly would harness to construct wards over Branwood Castle.
Ordell drove our carriage, and I sat facing Ezekiel inside. He was silent and watchful, his gaze flicking between the view outside the cabin window and me.
“I’m fine.” I smiled to reassure him.
“I know, and that in itself is astounding,” he said. “A new vampire shouldn’t be so composed.”
“I guess I’m special.” I’d hoped to defuse the tension, but my quip seemed to heighten it. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t help but wonder if your reaction is delayed.”
“Being locked in my own body for almost two days wasn’t a reaction?”
“Maybe…” He fixed his gaze on the view outside. “Or maybe your hunger has yet to rise.”
He thought I was going to succumb to bloodlust? “Trust me, if I start to have pangs, I’ll tell you.”
“Good. Make sure you do.” He plucked an imaginary piece of lint off his cuff. “How was Hemlock when you went to see him?”
My stomach quivered. “He’s adamant that he’ll go through with his plan.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“The same way I’d feel if you told me you planned to walk into the sun unshielded.”
He pressed his lips together. “Does he know how you feel?”
“Yes. I told him.”
“Good.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a wry smile. “He should know.”
“You’re not going to stop him?”
“Are you? If it comes down to the fate of the world?”
I took a steady breath. “No. I won’t stop him. But if he dies, a piece of me will die too.”
“Then we’ll make sure it doesn’t come to that.”
The carriage clattered to a halt, and I peered out to see that we were at the carriage park.
Ordell opened the door. “We’re here. I’ll fire up Betsy.”
