“Nothing.”
Fuck, he had been afraid of that, but he pushed forward anyway. “There must be something.”
Castor dragged his fingers through his fiery hair and sighed heavily. “I don’t remember you being this boring, Ruger. Are we finished here?”
“Let him go,”Luka said.“This was pointless from the beginning.”
But Ruger wasn’t ready to give up just yet. “Tell me what I can—”
“If you want to break the binding spell,” Castor cut him off, “do it yourself.”
Wait, they could do that? “How?”
“Honestly, I’m disappointed you haven’t figured it out already. I told you. I don’townhim. I never did anything he didn’t allow.”
“You’re blaming Luka?”
“So boring,” he muttered with another deep sigh.
Then he swept past them and out the door without another word.
“Do you have any idea what he’s talking about? Or is he just talking out of his ass?”
“I will assume that is one of your strange expressions because what you suggest is a physical impossibility.”
Given their current situation, he wouldn’t have thought it possible that he could laugh. “Is he just making stuff up to confuse us?”
“Ah, I understand, and I don’t think so. Castor is many things, but he is not a liar.”
That seemed like a matter of perspective, but from his dealings with the male, he had to agree. The guy was a master manipulator who twisted words and truths, but he always stopped short of outright lying.
But what the hell had he meant when he’d said Luka hadallowedit? Sounded a lot like victim blaming to him.
Ruger stopped and took a deep breath. Magic didn’t care about his feelings. Even the most powerful spells had rules. Logic. From a purely rational standpoint, to allow something simply meant the absence of refusal.
If Luka had been conditioned to think he had no choice, of course he wouldn’t refuse. Belief was a powerful thing.
“You believe you are bound to him.”
“Iambound to him.” Luka held his wrists out and shook them. “You see the shackles.”
“When he cursed you, did you try to stop him?”
“What could I have done?” Luka demanded, frustration saturating his tone.
“Exactly.” Could it really be that simple? “You believed you had no power. You still believe it.”
“Taavi, I—”
“Stop. Just stop believing it.” Easier said than done, he knew, but they had to try. “It’s your choice, Luka. You can choose to be free.”
“Do you think I want this?”
Fuck, okay, bad move. He had to find another way in, past centuries of preconceived notions.
“If you won’t choose yourself, choose me.” Stepping in front of his mate, Ruger took his hand, gripping them tightly until he met his gaze. “Choose me, Luka.”
“I do choose you.”
