There was that word again. The one she’d heard but didn’t know. The one that clearly had been haunting her this whole time and she felt like such a fucking idiot for missing its meaning.
Heir. Ty was the heir. It meant he was next in line to be king.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” she asked, her voice turning hard.
“I—”
But she was too mad to hear what he was about to say. “I’m so sickof you hiding things from me, Ty,” she said, tears filling her eyes, whether from anger or sadness, she wasn’t sure. “This is huge. This changeseverything.”
“I wasn’t hiding it,” Ty said, his voice unwavering. “I just didn’t want it to complicate things between us. I just wanted to forget about it. And it doesn’t have to change anything. Ena,” he said, his voice steady and convincing. “I can make you my queen. I don’t care what Cole said, I’ll have the power to do that. I’ll be able to do whatever I want.”
Ena shook her head sadly. Tears started to flow down her face, dripping through the bruises on her cheeks and falling onto her broken wrist where it lay on the bed. “I can’t, Ty, don’t you see? Do you not see what they did to me?”
Ty looked away as if she’d slapped him.
“There are too many here who will never accept me. Even once we break the bond, all that hate won’t just instantly go away. I will always be in danger from those who mistrust witches, and I…I need to be with my family.” Ena began sobbing. The homesick ache returned as she thought of her Coven. Of the safety there that she longed for.
Because, she realized, she wasn’t safe here. Even with Ty back—he was only one man. And how long before he was hurt trying to protect her? How long before daemons came for him, too, for breaking the rules?
As freeing as it had been to embrace the unknown, it had also been more dangerous than she’d realized, and right now, she just desperately wanted to feel safe again.
“I—I can’t be at your side here, Ty. I see that now. We…we have to stop this. Before we get in too deep.”
But what he didn’t know was that she already was in too deep. She was so fucking deep she was drowning. She’d wanted to be with Ty so badly she’d thrown caution to the wind. But for the first time, she saw it clearly—their relationship was not safe. It wasn’t safe for her, or him. By being together, they’d been playing with fire, and soon enough, someone would get burned.
She had to be the logical one, the strong one. As much as it utterly killed her—broke her—she had to end this. For both their sakes.
“Ena, what are you saying?” he asked, his beautiful eyes filled with desperation.
“Ty.” She looked at him, his face blurry because of the tears in her eyes. “It’s not safe for us to be together—don’t you see that? If I stay here, Cole will kill me. Even once you are king, I’ll always be in danger from those who think like him. And maybe next time, they’ll hurt you too.”
Quiet rage filled Ty’s eyes as he spoke. “I don’t care if they hurt me, Ena. I’ve waited too long for you. I want you now. I want you every minute, of every day. I—” Ty swallowed, as if stopping himself from what he’d been about to say. “You’remine.”
“I can’t be yours, Ty,” Ena said, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Not anymore.”
Ty’s face fell into his hands, and he held it there for several seconds.
Ena had to look away. It was too much. This was all too much. Her heart felt broken and shattered in her chest. Unfixable. Unrecoverable.
Part of her wanted to break, seeing his face like that, to turn to him, and hug him. Kiss him. Deny all of this. Take it all back. But she couldn’t fuckingmove. Her wrist was broken, her face and ribs were broken. Her injuries were a visceral reminder of the consequences of their relationship, so she held her ground.
Because at least Ty would live. His people needed him as king. She saw the way they looked up to him, respected him. And if anyone could lead the daemons into a more peaceful accord with the witches and mortals, it would be Ty. He needed to live for her sake, but he needed to live forthemmost of all.
So she had to let him go.
“I’ll come with you still, to break the bond, but then…” Her voice drifted off, small and quiet.
Why wasn’t he saying anything? Why wasn’t he arguing with her and telling her this wasn’t the way? That they could figure something else out? Part of her desperately wanted that. If he fought her, if he argued and told her no, maybe she could give in. Maybe then she wouldn’t have to do this.
But Ty was silent. She could just make out the sheen of tears in his eyes as he stood up, nodding his head. “Okay,” was all he said.
Then he turned and walked out of the room, leaving Ena broken and alone on the bed.
Chapter Twenty-six
Ty
Tyclosedthedoorbehind him, leaving his heart bloodied and still on the floor of his room. It was dead. It was gone. He’d all but felt it rip from his chest when Ena said she couldn’t behisanymore.
