“Please tell me you are not falling for the one girl in this world that you cannot have because your survival depends on her death. And because she has made it clear she will kill you if she wins.”
Dominic stood abruptly, the chair falling over as he whirled on Ace. “I amnotfalling for her,” he said through gritted teeth, a lethal calm settling into his bones.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Ace cocked his head to the side, brows raised. “I see the way you look at her, Dominic.” His brown eyes went soft, all fight draining away, replaced with hopelessness. “Like she is the sun, the center of your universe, and you are the earth, where there is no life without her.”
Dominic inhaled, fists clenched at his sides. As much as he wanted to strangle Ace, he couldn’t deny it. “That’s entirely besides the point,” he countered.
“You’re right,” Ace shot back quickly, like he wouldn’t get a word in if he hesitated, ire flaring in his eyes once more. “The point is you can’t be screwing around with somePherrayou know nothing about! Not again! Not with your key on the line!”
Rage filled Dominic. Warmth trickled down his palms, the bite of his nails stinging against his palms, imagining Ace’s neck in his fist instead. How dare Ace order him around, knowing howeasily, how barbarically Dominic could end him right there. How dare he bring her up.
ThatPherra, whose name Dominic had forgotten over all these years. A girl who, long ago, when he first came to the island, had almost killed him because he had made the mistake of falling in love with her as he played her into giving up her key. The girl he almost died for because he didn’t have it in him to take her power from the key—almost.
He’d killed her anyway, claiming his first key. He loved her . . . and he killed her anyway.
“I knowallabout Adara!” Dominic countered, slamming a hand on his desk, causing the pocket watch sitting atop scattered maps to rattle.
Ace shot him an incredulous scowl. “Do you?”
Dominic firmly nodded his head, all logic leaving him as he fought to prove a point. “I know she is from a continent called Blemythia, which no one has ever heard of because it has been wiped from existence. I know she needs the Realm Fracturer to return. I know she is a princess, an heir to the throne, and prophesied to be her home’s salvation or destruction. I know she is a Flamecarrier, descended from the Goddess of Fire and Courage. I know she was captured by the Shadow Empire, tortured for years, honed into a weapon they planned to utilize to destroy her own kingdom. I know she escaped, and her friends were slaughtered. I know thatshewas the reason I carved out my heart and wiped my memories—”
Ace’s jaw dropped. “What?” He snapped his mouth shut, features hardening. “Sheis the reason you threw away your heart and your memories?”
Dominic’s lips parted, nothing but air leaving as his throat constricted. What the Hel was he thinking? He clamped his mouth closed, mortified at all he’d revealed to defend his feelings toward Adara.
“Sheis the reason for all that pain,” Ace seethed, fists clenching at his sides.
Dominic remained silent.
“That only makes her all the more dangerous!”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Dominic snapped, throwing his hands up in the air. He had to fix this. He could not lose. He couldnotlove Adara again. Getting to know her was simply a way to show his false care for her, to worm his way into her heart. At least that’s what he tried convincing himself. “Do you really believe I would put my key, my life—possiblyallour lives—on the line for some stupid girl?”
Ace sighed and shook his head, understanding replacing the irritation in his eyes. “No,” he admitted quietly, shoulders slumping, all the fight draining from him. “You’re too cunning for that. But, like I said, I see the way you look at her, and it seems like there’s something more. The one person you finally decide to open up to is the one who wants to kill you.”
“It’s all part of the plan. I have to make her believe that I’m falling for her if I ever want a shot at her loving me,” Dominic said impassively. “I’m not falling in love, Ace. And even if I was, you have nothing to worry about. Everything I love surely dies.”
Chapter 46
Adarafinishedplaitingherhair out of her face in a long braid that hung down her back, swaying in the breeze that filled the sails, carrying them home. She sidled up to Asher, who had his cream tunic sleeves rolled to his elbows, bare forearms resting on the starboard railing. He smiled contentedly, eyes closed, fluffy brown hair disheveled in the wind.
Adara tried her hardest to summon a similar smile, but it pulled at her face all wrong. They were finally going to Andreilia, but apprehension churned in her gut at the uncertainty thatlay ahead. She and Dominic still had no plan to retrieve the remaining relics and they’d already almost lost their lives for two of them.
Letting out a heavy sigh, she rested her arms on the wooden railing, staring out at the horizon. She didn’t even want to begin to think about Dominic and how their dynamic had changed so drastically throughout the course of finding these relics.
There is nothing,nothing, in all the realms that could possibly be more valuable thanyou.Dominic’s words kept playing on repeat in her head. Such passion, such truth, yet such deception in those carefully chosen words. Nothing in all the realms could be more valuable than her, meaning there was nothing he treasured more than her because he was adamant about taking her key.
Their emotions were a game, and every word, every touch, every action was another move to put the pieces in place on the board. But what if it didn’t have to be? She’d find herself thinking: do either of themneedthe other’s key? What if he truly meant he cared for her and nothing else? Because Adara couldn’t shake the feeling that she cared for him as well, and she feared falling for the Thief of Hearts would be her demise . . . unless he fell for her too.
Her gaze snagged on Asher’s fingers. His thumb rubbed the silver ring on his left hand. “Can I ask you something personal, Ash?” she blurted out.
His blue eyes slowly blinked open, brows knitting together. “I don’t see why not.”
“How did you know?”
“Know what?”
Adara eyed his ring. “How did you know they were the one? That you could trust them with your key?”
