What am I going to say to him?
What is he going to say tome?
I push the wall open and bolt to my room.
And freakingTheois right behind me.
Holding my breath, I enter. And just as Theo predicted, Jax is already there.
His broad shoulders rise and fall far too fast, and shadows pour from his fingers, flooding the room, reaching every corner, every crevice, but Theo doesn’t so much as blink, which tells me he knows exactly who—orwhat—Jax is.
I, on the other hand, can barely swallow at the sight of his shadows taking on a life of their own. Bending and twisting, snaking across the ground before climbing the walls.
Jax’s eyes flick to me, then Theo, and I swear, if looks could kill, Theo would be dead right now.
“What the fuck, Theo?” Ryjax is on him in a second, fists curled in his shirt, forcing his cousin’s back to slam against the wall. “I told you to stay the fuck away from her.”
It takes my brain a moment to catch up, too stunned that Jax’s fury isn’t directed at me.
But I know that won’t last long.
“It’s not his fault.” I force the words out because even though Theo is just as infuriating as his cousin often proves to be, he doesn’t deserve this. “Let him go, Jax.” It’s a demand I have no business making.
Not to him, theprince.
The prince whoIdisobeyed.
But Jax doesn’t let him go, though I can’t really blame him. Especially with Theo smirking at him like he has a death wish.
“Relax, Cousin,” Theo drawls, holding his arms by his head. “I found your little Pyroflame hidden in the passages. The same passages I can only assume were revealed to her byyou.”
Realization crosses Jax’s face, and he releases him. His fingers find his hair, pushing it from his forehead before he turns to me.
“You promised.” There’s pain in his voice, a sound that pierces my ears in such an abrupt and heart-wrenching way.
But it’s more than just pain.
It’sfear. Undeniable, unrelentingfear,and part of me wants to soothe his pain, wash away his fear, but now that he’s finally here, after days of being away, I just want to scream at him. Because heleftme.
“And you weren’t here,” I say, and I hate that my voice somehow matches his, low and hoarse, because why do I care so much that he’s been gone? My words linger between us, and I wish I hadn’t said them, but I did, so I might as well say them again, so he hears me,reallyhears me. “You weren’t here, Jax.”
He purses his lips, studying me, his chest still heaving like he can’t catch his breath. And with the way he’s looking at me, neither can I.
“I had business elsewhere,” he finally says, and the lack of explanation makes my heart sink.
“And you couldn’t have said goodbye before you left? It’s beensix days. Would it have killed you to let me know?”
“Honestly, I didn’t think you’d care.”
I whip my head to the side as if he’d slapped me. Gods, I truly am afool. The biggest fool.
He didn’t think I’d care…because if roles were reversed and I had left without a word, he wouldn’t give a flying fuck.
“If it makes you feel any better, Little Flame,” Theo says from behind me, and for the first time, I welcome the sound of his voice, the distraction from my stinging eyes and shaking hands. “He didn’t say goodbye to me, either. And exactly where have you been, Cousin?”
Jax looks at Theo. The shift is slow, but I’m glad he’s no longer looking at me. “Bragunda.”
Theo stiffens. It’s subtle, but I see it.
