Page 66 of One Last Promise
Chapter Twenty One
The tension was radiatingoff of Darce in waves.I could hear Loki, Enyo, and Boulder pining behind us, but I was too afraid to look away.He must have portalled them to safety earlier.Darce’s nostrils flared, his breathing was uneasy as he scrutinised me.
“What do you want me to say?”I demanded, unable to deal with his gaze a moment longer.“We both know what would have happened if I’d told you who I really was the night we met!”Throwing my arms up in the air, I gave him a pensive look.
“What did you think I was going to do to you?”
“Kill me, probably!Or use me for ransom.”
“I knew you were Dylin to start with and still saved you from that beast.When you pulled your hood down, and your beautiful, silver hair fell down your shoulders...”He closed his eyes, trying to control the emotions of remembering that day.“Alora, you havenoidea of the affect you’ve had on me since the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“That doesn’t change anything.If you had known I was the princess, youwouldhave captured me and used me for your own benefit.”
“No, I wouldn’t have.I still would have helped you to the sacred mountain and made sure you got home safely.Has our time together taught younothingabout me and my kind?You’re meant to understand me now.I thought we had broken through all that.My kind aren’t your enemy.We never have been.”
“You say all that now, but what if this was your plan all along?To get me to trust you and let my guard down?”
“Listen to yourself!Do you realise how fucking ridiculous you sound?”Grabbing my face in his hands, he made me gaze directly into his eyes.“Why couldn’t you tell me the truth?Why keep this from me?Do you really think I could ever hurt you or ransom you?You know how I feel about you.What the fuck am I meant to do now?Forget all about you?Do you know how impossible that is going to be for me?You’re all I fucking dream about, Alora!You’ve left me with no choice.”
“Choice for what?”
“Why couldn’t you be honest with me?”
“There was never the right moment.”
“Alora, we’ve been doing this for overfour hundred years!You’ve had plenty of time to tell me the truth!”
“I wanted to tell you, but the longer I left it...”Darce pulled away from me again, pulling on the ends of his hair.“I came so close to telling you more than once, but I feared losing what we had.”
“Do you have any idea what we’ve done?We have doomedbothour races.There will be no coming back from this!You gave me no choice inanyof this!If you had only told me!If you hadtrustedme enough!”
“Oh, this is all on me, is it?!”
“You’re the one that has been keeping the secrets.”
“You have your own secrets.Have you been able to portal the entire time?”
“We are not talking aboutmeright now.”
“Why not?Now seems like the perfect time.Let’s get it all out in the open.How powerful are you?You must be high up to brush Xavier off so easily!Whoare you?What is your ranking within the Noxlin army?”
