The words come more easily than I expected, fueled by the way he stumbles back a step. He looks like I’ve just slapped him, and he gives a slight shake of his head, as if trying to dislodge his thoughts, before reaching for me again.
Absolutely not.
“How could you?” I accuse, in a breathy whisper.
His hand freezes, but anger quickly starts to bleed into his expression. “But – I –Itold you to stay on the castle grounds. You were already refusing to comply. Ineeded you to understand that you couldn’t fight the bond,” he argues, trying to make himself out to be the victim.
Not a chance.
“I went looking forYOU! To apologize. I was almost blind with pain and could only follow the tug of the Keeper bond. I was desperate. Ineededyou!”
Tears fall from my eyes, and I funnel all my hurt and anger into showing him how truly betrayed I feel. I look at him like he has broken my heart, like he was the most important thing in my world, only to fall from grace. It’s a feeling I’m sure haunts him, ever since he was demoted from a Creator to a Destroyer.
A broken look crosses his face, and victory blossoms inside of me.
But I’m not finished.
Who knew gaslighting your abuser could be so satisfying?
“I needed you, and you left me. I amsodeeply angry with you.”
“But you and Sin–” Leon tries to interject, even more panic in his tone.
I scoff, infusing it with hurt and disbelief. “Do you have any idea of the terror that comes with being left at the mercy of such a powerful creature? I did what I needed to do to survive, Leon. You threw me to the wolves, so I fought until I could find a way to lead them.”
I wonder if the metaphor is too much, but I’m delighted when I hit my mark. Leon falls to his knees, looking up at me like he’s horrified.
“I’m so sor–” he starts, and I cut him off.
“Youbroke us,” I whisper, crossing my arms.
I wonder if this is all it will take to shatter Leon’s self-worth. The possibility makes me ridiculously happy. While I know I’m a terrible actress, this doesn’t feel like acting.
Iwantto break Leon.
He’s shaking his head, staring at the floor. “No, no, no, no. It can’t be,” he mutters.
His fists slam against the floor before he starts pulling at his hair. His muttering continues, but the words grow less coherent by the second.
Honestly, Leon having an emotional breakdown wouldn’t be a bad outcome either. Unfortunately, his display only lasts a few more moments before his gaze snaps back to me. Equally disappointing, his look of horrified guilt has already faded, only to be replaced by steely determination.
Oh fuck.
This may backfire in the worst way. But it’s all I could come up with on such short notice.
“How do I fix this?” He asks.
YOU CAN’T!I scream internally. Yet somehow, I have a sinking feeling that if I tell him as much, I’ll lose whatever ground I’ve just gained. And no matter how badly I want to continue to fight Leon, my need to keep Sin safe is much stronger. If I can get Leon to back off willingly, that will hopefully give me the breathing room I need to try and solve this mess.
Instead, I sigh, pretending to give his question some deep thought, when really, I’m trying to come up with a goal that is completely abstract and unattainable, but still sounds legitimate.
“We need time to rebuild, Leon. Time to process the pain, before we can move forward.” I say it with conviction, like I know exactly what I’m talking about (I don’t).
Leon slowly stands, nodding like he can see some semblance of logic in my words. “We need time to work on us.” He says it like he’s just found the solution to a complex problem.
Still, I’m not going to argue.
“You’re right, we do,” I agree, sounding relieved.
