“Did thevadentiatell you that love was a weakness?”
“No. But it did tell me there’s another way,” I reasoned. “And I think that is something Primals are supposed to learn instead of just knowing.”
He arched a brow. And, yeah, that sounded as ridiculous to me as it likely did to him. “But it’s not the only way. A stronger Primal can kill him.”
“You’re right. But—”
He lowered our joined hands to the space between us. “How do we know we’re not stronger? That I or Kieran isn’t stronger?”
I tensed. The very idea of him or Kieran going up against Kolis one-on-one terrified me. “We are too new at this—”
“Who says?”
I opened my mouth.
“The Fates?”
I snapped my mouth shut. Had they? No. But they were concerned enough about Casteel that there could be a chance hewasstronger than them already. I drew my lower lip in. But even if that was true, it didn’t mean he was stronger than Kolis.
“We areDeminyenPrimals, right? You descended from the true Primal of Life and a Primal of Death. I’m descended from a Primal of War, and both Kieran and I are Joined to you.” His hands slid to my elbows. “There is no telling what we’re capable of.”
There wasn’t.
We were something new.
“And he may still be unaware of what Kieran and I are. He won’t be expecting us to pack the kind of punch we’ll deliver.”
Hopefully, Kolis wouldn’t be prepared. But… “We know how to kill him. We need to do what we know.” My shoulders straightened. “And what I need from you and Kieran is to make sure I can get to him.”
Casteel’s jaw worked as he looked away. Several moments passed as I watched the shadowy essence start to appear beneath his flesh, then disappear. “You can’t expect me to be okay with this.”
I closed my eyes. “I don’t.”
Iwasn’t even okay with this.
I kept that to myself, though.
Exhaling roughly, I reopened my eyes. “But you can’t expect me to hang back.”
His eyes cut to mine. “I’m not asking that.”
“It’s what you want. You don’t want me to do what needs to be done, therefore endangering both you and Kieran,” I said. “And that is not something I will do.”
Casteel shook his head. “What good is not endangering us if you’re putting yourself in a position that could end in your death?”
Slipping a hand free of his grip, I cupped his cheek. “He’s not going to kill me.”
The eather pulsed behind his pupils once again. “He killed Sotoria in the past.”
Coldness pierced my chest. “Based on what Seraphena said, I have a feeling that…escalated over time. And I won’t give him that chance.”
He said nothing to that, just leaned his head back. My hand dropped to his chest. Silence stretched out for so long that I started to squirm. Then, he spoke. “He didn’t behave like a man in love when he was in control of you.”
I rocked back, my hand slipping away. “What do you mean?”
“He used you to try to seduce me into taking you out of the cell,” he bit out. “A man in love wouldn’t think of that.”
Staring at him, I tried to imagine what had been going through his head during that. I couldn’t. I didn’t want to. “Kolis…he doesn’t seem like a normal man in love.”
