Zenon smiled darkly.
Our fight was entertaining Zenon.
Something clicked into place. Everything had turned out for the worst for the two of us, but not for him. He had everything he wanted.
The gears turned in my mind. Halo was up to something.
Hewantedme to be angry. But why?
I kept my face scowling and still, not letting my slow trickle of realization change my expression. If this was a trick, I had to figure it out - fast.
Would Haloreallynot tell me if our daughter was dead?
I swallowed the gasp threatening to come out. Angel wasn’t dead at all, was she? It was a lie, just a trick so that…
The pieces fell into place. Halo was lying, and doing a damn good job of it, too. He wanted to make our split as realistic as possible, and I’d played right into his hands. My reactive blow-up was real. They thought I believed Halo, and therefore they believed it, too. The truth dawned on me.
He’s keeping her safe. By convincing Zenon she’s dead, they won’t go looking for her.
My heart ached for Halo. He was putting himself in danger again just to protect his daughter.
But then, with a jolt of shock, I realized we had another problem. Halo might be pregnant - right now. Did Zenon know? Did Halowanthim to know?
Halo was tense as he stared at me. He was waiting for me to act.
Silas scowled. “Well? Aren’t you leaving?” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Do you really not care that we have your mate in our possession?”
This is what Halo wanted. I knew that now.
My expression never changed from one of grief and fury. I avoided looking at Halo now, turning to Silas instead. “No.”
Silas crossed his arms. “You don’t even care what the master wants with him?”
I glared visibly back at Halo, but this time, I searched his expression carefully. If he wanted me to know something, now was the best time to reveal it. His jaw was tight, his mouth set. He stared back at me, completely still except for the tears running down his face.
He’s trying to tell me something.
Somehow in my heart, I knew what he was trying to tell me. He wanted me to leave.
My mind instantly went to the possibility of our unborn child. Was Halo thinking about that, too?
But I couldn’t doubt him now. He was the master of this sort of thing, not me. All I could do was trust him.
“No,” I said loudly to Silas. “I don’t care what you do with him.” I frowned, making it clear I was uncomfortable spending even a moment longer in Halo’s presence. “Am I free to leave now?
Silas glanced to his master for confirmation, but Zenon was currently more enamored with Halo, never taking his smug eyes off him. Silas shrugged and waved me off half-heartedly. “Go. Don’t let me see you around here again.” He paused, then added coldly, “Captain.”
I turned and began walking away in the direction of the cavern’s entrance. I didn’t dare take one last glance back at Halo, but I wished desperately that no matter how this ended, he and the baby would be okay.
The tunnel of darkness finally broke. Early morning light illuminated the cavern’s mouth.
We must have been unconscious for a while,I thought.
I aimlessly stumbled down the mountain side. The back of my head still throbbed, and my whole body ached from being contorted into an uncomfortable, tied-up position. But this was no time to be thinking about my own pain - Halo was in horrible danger, and Istilldidn’t know what exactly the danger was.
A wide chasm seemed to stretch between me and my next decision. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Halo wanted me to leave, and I’d done that - but now what? I couldn’t charge back in and take him back by force.
“Kassius!”
