“I won’t leave him, Lani. He’s my mate.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to breach your bond, Istral, but—”
“There is no b-but,” she said, her teeth beginning to chatter again. I looked at her, standing naked in the bath, hands balled at her sides, her shoulders tensing and pulling towards her ears. But her jaw was set, and her eyes were clear. I knew my sister well enough to know, she meant her words. And when Istral had her heart set, she couldn’t be diverted. “Gall is m-mine,” she continued. “He l-loves me and is afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“H-he’s afraid he’ll h-hurt me when we m-mate. It s-stopped him before. And since we g-got here, that… L-Lucifer s-said n-no.”
I didn’t miss that her trembling and teeth chattering grew worse when she referred to the Fallen.
Drawing her out of the bath, I grabbed one of the thick towels from a shelf and wrapped it around her to give myself time to think.
“I’m glad that Gall thinks of you in… in that way,” I said carefully.
Istral nodded quickly again, and pulled the towel around herself like a blanket. “He l-loves me.”
“He does. The true Gall would die for you, Izzy.”
She nodded again, as if that were only a given. I rubbed the towel at her back to draw any moisture from her skin, then turned her to face me—and went still when her eyes locked on mine.
“Izzy, what—”
“The t-true Gall is st-still there, Lani. The other one… only s-sometimes.”
It doesn’t matter if he only shows uponce.
The words were right at the tip of my tongue, surging for air, begging to be released. I could see the wariness in her gaze. The unease.
She was afraid I’d hurt her by making her fight for Gall.
I tried to pick my words carefully. “Izzy… if that other Gall hurts you—”
“He won’t.”
“If hedoes,you aren’t safe. If you let me and Melek take you away, we can still stay close enough that the spell won’t harm him. Melek will keep talking with Gall. He’ll figure out how to bring therealGall back. And when he’s safe, you two can be together again—”
“No.”
“But—”
“Lani, I saidno.”
I drew up to my full height, which was only an inch or so taller than hers. “Izzy, I am your sister, and your queen—”
“I’m a queen now, too,” she whispered, but it was through clenched teeth. I saw the fear in her, and the determination as well. “Gall is my mate. And my h-husband. And he’s king.”
“Yes, but—”
“Would you leave yours?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again. Horrified. Then I opened it again. “No.”
She nodded. “See—”
“Of course, I wouldn’t. But, I’m notyou.I have… some skills that you don’t. I can protect myself.”
“Gall will protect me.”
