I reveal nothing. “You have a mess outside to clean up.” I lean over and fluff my pillow. “And something tells me that is what truly scares you.”
The door slams so hard my muscles flinch.
He’s gone. I survived. I curl my fingers into the pillow, trying to slow the shaking of my lungs.
Titus. Mate. I wish he were here to catch me instead of the mattress. I press my face into the sheets, feeling like a puppet that has been passed around so many times my stitches are barely holding.
“Ouch!” I gasp as a searing pain burns into my flesh.
My back arches from the torture. My heart feels on fire. My hands claw at the fabric of my top, ripping it open. The pain has faded to that of a sharp sting.
Open your eyes. You know what has happened. My trembling fingers hover over the pain, too scared to touch my skin. “Gods!” The mating mark has appeared. My eyes gaze upon it only for a moment, lost in its beauty. It feels like a child, something I want to keep safe and protect, but in my current situation, it is a bastard child, one I must keep hidden so Galen does not kill it.
Tenderly, I press my finger to it. A sharp inhale hits my lungs as a rush of magic jolts from it. Glee, safety, love. Titus. His face, his thick dark hair, trusting brown eyes, and his sharp jaw. He’s all I see. His body, his actions, his desire for me. It pulls tears from my eyes.
Then reality slams into me. I rush to my closet, tripping and stumbling into the wall. Lost in my exhaustion and panic, I barely manage to grab a shirt to cover it.
I collapse on the floor like a garment that refuses to cling to a hanger. Stand up.Don’t let anyone see you like this, especially not Titus.He’d worry, see me as fragile.
Okay, I can’t stand, so I’ll crawl.
I make it to my bed and then using all my upper body strength, I pull myself into it. Tipping my head back, I look at the window. My world is upside down. Everything has changed.
If Galen had lingered longer, he would have seen the mark. Moisture beads on my forehead. My shirt clings to my damp back and chest, like a vest trying to cover the mark.Titus must have gotten his mark, too. I hope he’s still in my field, far away from Galen’s eyes and war.
My lids remain open wide, my lashes unmoved despite the desperate call to close them so the stinging stops. I gaze at the upside-down world. The weight of the ground now presses down on the clouds. On me.
The life I know is about to be torn open. I’m not just referring to my failed peace-treaty marriage. Everything I have bottled upinside, Titus will eventually drink down. It will taint him because my scars and memories are too dark for someone as noble and heroic as Titus. The selfishness of his actions will change.
I’ll change him, destroy him.
All this time, Titus has looked upon me as his queen, someone he could never afford.
The depressing truth is, it is I who can not afford him. You don’t toss an old rusty coin into a shining fountain in hopes that the water will clean it. The rust will spread, and soon the stunning fountain will be covered in grime.
Chapter
Thirty-Six
Titus
The wild grass brushes my boots, a silent plea not to burn it. Sweat beads on my brow, not cooled by the winds since they have vanished along with Galen and my mate. As an ancient oak, I watch Galen’s castle, imagining the black stones reflecting my orange flames.
Tristen’s steps ultimately cause me to look away. His hands grip two bottles instead of torches. “What’s that?” I ask.
“Blood,” he answers. I catch the glass bottle before it hits me. “The prick wants this field burned, so let’s burn it. Let’s test your swallowing skills.” He winks. “Drink up, buttercup.”
I can’t help but roll my eyes. “You and your sex jokes.”
“When I mature, you’ll miss them. ”
“Unlikely.”
He uncorks the bottle and takes a long drag. The noise of his swallowing makes me crave a drink. “You need a release, and not the sexual kind,” Tristen continues. “When was the last time you let your magic loose? Before Everett died? It’s got to be drivingyou insane, Titus. Drink! Let go; pour your emotions into your fire magic. Destroy something Galen built.”
I push the cork free with my thumb. The smooth glass touches my lips right before I drink. “It smells off now.” I grimace. How am I going to stomach this?
“They never mention the side effects of being mated. One, you become psychotic.”
