“You had to do?” he repeats. His wolfish eyes narrow into slits. “What did you have to do, Nevaeh?”
“I’ve tried to tell you. You’ve refused to listen!”
“Tell me now. What is it you had to do?” His growl rumbles out of him like thunder. He’s moved toward the bed out of an impulse to reach for me. All he’d have to do is lean over quickly enough to snatch hold of me by the arm.
I can’t figure out if his request is out of sincere curiosity or if any honesty might backfire on me. He’ll use it as further justification for treating me like a traitor. For putting distance between us and using me as some sort of vessel to carry his seed.
So I retreat into uncooperative silence.
Caelian does what I suspected he would—he leans over and swipes at me, easily gripping me by the elbow. I’m dragged onto my knees, falling forward only for him to catch me. For what a sudden and aggressive move it is, his tone lowers. His register reads as gentle as it possibly can go. “What is it, bella? Tell me right now.”
“I did what I did because…” I take in a rocky breath and nearly lose my nerve. It’s difficult thinking about how I’ll ever explain the complexities of what’s happened. The lies I’ve been fed and was naive enough to believe.
But then I get an idea that’s better than telling Caelian.
I’ll show him.
I leap off the bed like I’m executing a saut de chat. Caelian hasn’t even caught on to what I’m doing by the time I’ve made it to the doors of the armoire. I draw them open and dig around inside for what I’m looking for.
“See for yourself.”
I spin around clutching the snow globe I’ve guarded with my life. The very same prized possession Mom and Dad have obsessed over without recognizing they have. No one else knows the truth but me.
“I left this here,” I say.
Caelian gives no indication he understands. He simply stares as if expecting more.
I sigh and walk the delicate glass dome over to him. “Turn it over and open the back where the batteries are supposed to go—it’s supposed to light up when you put them in. But I don’t keep batteries there.”
“Then what do you…” He pauses as I push the snow globe into his massive hands and then slide off the piece of plastic that snaps into place where the batteries usually go. Once he sees what’s in their place, his dark gray eyes flick up for a look at me. “The key? You’ve been keeping the key to the lockbox in your snow globe?”
I nod. “My parents don’t know. Neither does Ignazio. The key I gave them is a dupe. It doesn’t open the lockbox.”
“You left the key here in my home. You left the key in my possession,” he says slowly. “You left with your mom and Ignazio to… trick them. And Nero.”
“If I stayed with you, everyone would know it was here. BecauseIwas. I had to go. I realized it when my mother visited for Christmas and explained her and my father’s plan to me. Nero wants that key, and my parents were going to barter it. But so long as I was here, they’d all never stop coming for you.”
Caelian’s hands are so massive, the size of an actual titan, that he’s able to grip the round dome of the snow globe easily in one hand. With his other, he seizes hold of me by the elbow and yanks me closer ’til I’m stumbling into his hard, broad body.
“Nevaeh,” he growls. “You were trying to protect me?!”
“You’re sick. I’m a target. I didn’t want you having to?—”
“Nevaeh!” he yells over me. He tosses the snow globe onto the bed and then grips me with both hands. “What the fuck were you thinking? What have I told you about getting involved in this war between my family and the Vorones? What have I told you about putting yourself in danger?!”
“Don’t you realize what this key is? Do you know what Nero and the others are willing to do to get it?”
“I know my fucking wife has no business being the bait for these assholes! Nero has been hunting down you and your family. Not to capture but tokill. And you thought it was a good idea to run off to pretend you had the key with you?”
“Caelian, you can save the lecture,” I say hotly, twisting in his hold, though it’s no use. “I weighed my options and decided I had to go. Mom and Ignazio would’ve gone to Nero and told them the truth. They would’ve let him know I still had the key. I had to go along with their plan.”
“No,” he grunts. “Do you hear me, Nevi? I said no! You won’t play these fucking games trying to outsmart any of them. That is for me to handle!”
“It’s not just your fight!”
“It is because I say it is!”
“We’re partners!” I cry out in frustration. I don’t care whether any of his guards or staff overhear out in the hall. I’ve had enough of censoring myself. “Didn’t you tell me we were? You said you’d hear my thoughts and opinions. You said you’d let me express myself. You can’t hide me away like some fragile doll, Cael! I’m a real live woman… yourwife! We’re in this war against Nero and the Vorones together!”
