“No, I got scared, and I left. I never saw him again.”
“You loved each other,” he says. It isn’t entirely a question, but I nod as he runs his hands through his hair, the movement so oddly like Jack.
“Did you think I was him? Is that why you—” He breaks off, shaking his head. “What am I to you? Am I just a stand-in for that person?”
“No, that has never been the case!” I scramble off the bed,trailing him. “When I first saw you, I didn’t know what to think. Everything was so surreal. But I fell for you in spite of myself. It didn’t matter that you looked alike. I fell for the male who picked me out of the Bone Forest and threw me in a dungeon. For the male that taught me to fight and made me strong. The one who showed me it was possible to love again when I thought I never would. I fell foryou.” I pull him to face me.
“When I first got here, and you brought me to that cell, I told you that the king was my father.” I reach for the phone before he can respond, pull up a picture of my dad, and turn the image to him.
“That is my dad. I thought he and King Derek were the same person at first—I mean, look at them. He’s a carbon copy of my dad before he… before he died. And this”—I pull up a picture of Sam—“is my sister.”
“She looks like Sorscha.” His eyebrows knit together as he takes the phone from my hands, studying it.
“Sam and I don’t speak anymore. But Sorscha and Sam are nothing alike. My sister is bratty, cold, and aloof. Sorscha is…like sunshine,” I admit guiltily. “I knew right away that none of you were the people I knew.”
“You should have told me.” His voice is less hostile than it was moments ago, and I take the opportunity to run my hands over his arms.
“Jace, I know, and I’m so sorry. When I first came here, Zadyn said that if I were to say anything, it could alter nature’s course, so I kept quiet.”
“And you listened to him?” he hisses, his voice rising.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I?”
“Because he’s inlovewith you!” He explodes, breaking out of my grasp. His shout echoes off the walls, followed by a long silence.
No, I shake my head. That’simpossible. That’scrazy.
“He is not in love with me—he’s with Cece.” My protest is weak. Unconvincing. Jace barks a laugh in response.
“No, he’sfuckingCece. He’s not in love with her. There’s a difference.” His words lash out harshly, causing me to flinch.
“You should have told me,” he fumes again, pacing the room, hands braced on his hips. I’ve never seen him so discomposed. He turns to me.
“What did you think was going to happen?”
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “Something bad. I felt like I would be messing with fate.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in fate,” he bites out, hurling his words like an accusation.
Suddenly, I feel so small.
“I—I didn’t.”
My answer is clearly the wrong one. Jace throws his shirt over his head and scoops up his jacket, rushing for the door.
“I need some air,” he says flatly. Unable to stop myself, I bound after him, still clutching my shirt against my naked chest.
“Look, I understand why you’re upset, but give me a chance to explain. I will tell you everything. Jace, please.”
Pathetic.
I am pathetic, tugging on his arm, begging him to stay. Maybe this is karma. He brushes me off easily, wrenching the door open as tears blur my vision.
I am not expecting to see a wide-eyed Marideth on the other side. Gazing between us, she says absently, “I wanted to speak with you. It’s Dover, he’s?—”
Her voice trails off as her intelligent eyes piece together Jace’s disheveled hair and my state of undress. The look of shock on her beautiful face sends a flood of shame through me. Jace stands beside me, still as a statue.
“Good gods.” Marideth shakes her head, her expression falling into steep disappointment.
