“I know where Paris is, but how the hell did we get here?” My breaths grow faster, panic on the verge of hysteria as he turns to face me head on, leaning back against the cabinets with an ease I don’t think I’ve ever seen this guy have before.
His fingers curl around the worktop beside him, turning his knuckles white. “I thought it would be best for you to heal somewhere safe since I imagine Jude is looking for you right about now,” he admits, the truth threatening to sour the moment, but I refuse to let it.
“How did I get here?” I repeat, ignoring the mention of Kael’s asshole of a brother.
“I carried you,” he admits, leaving me to gape at him in disbelief.
Finally, my head dips as a scoff parts my lips. “This is insane.”
“Is it?”
I tilt my face enough to look at him through my lashes. “My entire life is insane, so don’t think you’re cool or anything,” I mutter defensively, and he rolls his eyes.
“Of course not.”
Clearing my throat, I force myself to stand taller as I level him with a pointed stare. “So, did you know Kael was working with his brother?”
“No,” he answers calmly, and I nod, my gut telling me he’s speaking the truth. I felt it in the dream, and I feel it even stronger now with him standing before me.
“Well, just an FYI, I might kill him.”
“I might help you,” he grunts, blindly reaching for the mug behind him.
“Your friend?” I clarify, and he grunts again, taking a sip from the steaming mug before he replies.
“He wasn’t acting like a friend when he was keeping secrets,” he retorts, and I gulp, becoming acutely aware that I, at least, wasn’t the only one Kael lied to.
“What now?”
He shrugs. “It’s up to you.”
My eyes widen in surprise. “You’re not taking me straight back to The Vale?”
“I will if that’s what you want,” he offers, making my eyebrows rise even higher.
“And if it’s not?” I test, my pulse quickening in my ears.
“I’ll take you wherever you like.”
Running my tongue over my bottom lip, I push further. “And if I want to go without you?”
My words hang in the air for what feels like an eternity before he answers, cocking a brow at me as he takes another sip of his coffee. “I have a feeling our lives aren’t done intertwining.”
I gulp, feeling the weight of his words. My instincts agree with him.
Great.
“Are we going to talk about Jude?” His words are like ice down my spine and I stiffen.
“I’d rather we didn’t,” I mutter, my hands clenching as I wrap my arms tighter around my middle. It’s clear I’m distressed, and I should hate the fact that he’s seeing me so vulnerable, but the truth is, he’s seen me more exposed than anyone else if he carried me from the depths of Jude’s Hell.
Clearing my throat, I lean against the door frame. “What are my options? Spell it out for me.”
He nods, placing his mug back on the counter as he lets his hands hang at his sides, but I don’t miss the way his fingers flex. “You can stay here, in the human world, on the run from everyone, or you can return to The Vale, where The Sanctum has control, but there’s an extra layer of defense between you and Jude. Although, they haven’t done the best at protecting you from the rebellion attacks so far,” he offers, not giving me the third option, which would be to return to Jude now and delay the inevitable.
“The feeble protection The Vale offers is slightly off-putting,” I admit, watching his eyebrows knit together for a moment.
“I could increase the magic defending The Vale,” he offers, and it’s me who is confused this time.
