“He’ll execute me,” Lucas said, certain.
“You don’t know that!” I wiped the tears from my cheeks, and new ones replaced them. “Let me try, Lucas. Let me save you.”
He exhaled, loud and frustrated.
“Until I die.That’s what you promised me. You aren’t dead yet.”
He considered me for several seconds. “What will you do when they decide to execute me?”
Heart pounding, I flinched at the images that sprang forth—images of heartbreak and screams and endless torment.
“Tell me, Sophia. When the Defiance sentences me with execution for my war crimes—as they should—how will you respond?”
“That won’t happen.”
His gaze didn’t waver. “Tell me what you’ll do.”
The picture formed, heedless of my desire not to see it—Lucas denied mercy, strung up to suffocate. It burned a fiery wave from my stomach to the tips of my fingers and toes. My hands curled into fists.
He nodded as he stared at my face, like my expression said it all. “I won’t be the cross you die on.”
“You’re the only thing left to live for,” I whispered.
His gaze dropped to his knees. “You love me too much. Love isn’t supposed to hurt you.”
I sniffed. “Isn’t that all love is, Lucas? Just another knife buried in our hearts? If you die, it’ll tear the knife out. I’ll bleed to death.”
His eyes squeezed shut. “God. So dramatic.”
“I’m serious, Lucas. You’re a part of me. I can’t live without you.”
My name was a soft huff of air, and he dropped his head, lifting my hand to kiss my fingers. His tone lost all life. “I will go with you, but when they apprehend me, that’s the end.”
Relief washed through me. “Are you saying yes?”
“I’ll go with you?—”
A smile broke over my face.
“—as long as youpromise meyou’ll let them take me, if that’s what they choose to do. You will not fight for me. You will not get hurt for me. You will allow them to do what needs to be done. Do you understand?”
I froze.
“I am the devil, and youcannotfollow me back to hell.”
“Lucas—”
He met my eyes. “I’m not bargaining with you.”
“Lucas!”
“You fell to your knees and begged me to kill you today, Sophia.” His voice shook. “Do you have any idea what that did to me? If this doesn’t work, youwillstay safe.”
“The only times I’m ever hurt are the times I’m not with you.”
“I will stay with you,” he said. “Until I die. It’s coming, Sophia. You can’t stop this, but you can stay safe. Okay?”
The hard set of his shoulders, the bright, angry blue in his eyes—they told me he wouldn’t budge. No use arguing.
