“You’ve yet to reject me.”
“Are you kidding? I don’t know how many other ways Icanreject you! You just can’t take no for an answer.”
His fingers close around the iron bars. “Listen to me, Dragon Rider. We are stronger together. But I cannot protect you if you won’t allow me to.”
“Protect me from what? What out there can be worse than you, Kylian?”
Hesighs, pulling back.
“You’re lying,” I decide. “You didn’t see shit in those mirrors. You are relentless, you know that? You will stop at nothing?—”
“I’m telling the truth. Despite what you think, I am not the villain. I am not your enemy.”
“Yes, you are. You are the devil. And to top it all off, you’re my goddamned mate.”
“Which is why I would die to protect you.”
“You don’t care about anyone but yourself.”
“I care aboutyou. Why do you think I’ve been so desperate to get you back?”
My mocking laugh echoes down the hall.
“So desperate that you threw the people I love right in the crossfires.”
“You needed some kind of motivation. Can you honestly say you would have accepted me without the threat of your loved ones? If I had gotten down on one knee and asked nicely, would you have abandoned them and married me?”
“No.”
“Then you see why my actions were necessary.”
“You may think you had a good reason for doing what you did, but people died because of you. Ilsa, Derek—countless innocent lives taken because you let the Stryga loose. Your soldiers are ransacking our villages to get us to release you!”
“A small price to pay.”
“You’re a bastard.”
“You don’t have to believe me. You just have to trust that things are different now.”
“Oh, don’t tell me I’vechangedyou. That you suddenly turned good and no longer care about ruling.”
“Of course I still care. Ruling is my divine right. I was bred for this. I have been blessed by the gods with rare, powerful gifts for this purpose. And until recently, I never had trouble falling asleep with blood on my hands. They say the best rulers are the ones unhindered by emotion. Well, I’m living proof. Butyou?—”
The sudden passion in that single word has me liftingmy gaze to his. Those haunting eyes lock me in, cutting off all the circulation in my body.
“I never knew what emotion was. Not until I met you. You are the only feelings I have. You are my only sense of morality, you are my conscience, you are myheart.”
My stomach flutters.
“You knownothingabout me,” I whisper, fighting to cling to my anger.
“Our souls know each other. They always have,” he mumbles, sounding tired.
I watch him, my fingers absentmindedly toying with his locket. It’s oddly warm to the touch.
As much as I hate this, knowing he’s my mate has eased some of my guilt. This is why I’ve been drawn to him. It’s why I couldn’t kill him. Why I couldn’t resist him. Why I let him find me time after time.
I shake my head. “What am I supposed to do with you?”
