My irritation flares. “So now you want me to put it back on? Which is it, Flori? Do you want me to wear it or not?”
Her fingers shake as she grabs my old shirt, the one I used to sleep in on cold nights back home. She shrugs into it, fumbling with the buttons. “I don’t know! I don’t have all the answers.”
I pause, my bow halfway into its sheath at my back. “You’ll be free, Flori. Isn’t that what matters?”
“Free?” A bitter laugh escapes her. She snatches up the length of pink silk, her “bride sash”, and cinches it around her waist more forcefully than necessary. “I want more than that, Dray.” Her words slice the air between us. “I want a real life. With you. Away from their games and schemes.”
I falter, confusion swirling in my head. “I don’t understand. I thought this was what you wanted.”
I heard her make the deal with Kasaros. She bows for no man.
She shakes her head, a mirthless smile twisting her lips. “You still don’t get it, do you? Freedom means nothing if I lose you in the process.”
The words should be a balm. They should crack open something buried in my ribs, spill light into the hollow spaces inside me.
Instead, they gut me.
Because they mean nothing. Not when I know she’ll regret them.
She’s still half-lost in the fevered dream of our reunion, still clinging to theideaof me rather than the man I’ve become. She thinks we can carve a new life out of this ruin, but she doesn’t see the blood on my hands, the ghosts I carry.
She doesn’t see the truth—that Ichoseto become something unworthy of her.
And I did it with full knowledge of what it would cost.
I run a hand through my hair, searching the lost temple for answers, but Amara’s long since abandoned this place. There is no divine wisdom here, no miracle waiting to absolve me.
Only me.
Only her.
And a chasm between us that no amount of longing can bridge.
I force a slow breath, keeping my voice level. “Right now, let’s focus on getting you through the Labyrinth.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but I’m already turning away. If I stay, I’ll tell her things she’s not ready to hear. Things I’m not ready to admit.
Things that will only hurt us both.
“Where is that damned thorny tiara?” she grumbles to herself.
“In the courtyard,” I reply. “Along with the boots.”
She ignores me.
I snatch up the last of my weapons—the scimitar—and clip it to my belt. I stride toward the hole in the ceiling over the lagoon. It’s let rain and light in for centuries. I’m sure the way out is through there.
She’ll either follow me… or not.
I hear her frustrated huff behind me as I reach the nearby crumbling temple wall. My fingers find purchase on the weathered stone, and I haul myself up, muscles straining. I point out the good footings, but she ignores me and finds her own. I’m reminded she climbed out of a well herself when we were young and want to smile despite myself.
The hole in the ceiling isn’t far, and it’s covered in thick roots and vines. I test them all and find them sturdy. If we fall, we’ll land in the water.
But we don’t fall. We climb out of the lost temple one after the other. The cool night air hits my face as I emerge into the courtyard.
Flori pulls her head through the hole after me, panting, arms trembling. She briefly accepts my help to lift her clean through, but when her feet land on the ground, she shoves me away. I catch a whiff of her scent—sweat and sex and something uniquely her. My body responds savagely. I want to give in to the craving she’s awoken in me. I want nothing more than to return to that hidden temple and acquaint myself with every inch of her body. Her response to my kiss, touch, and cock satisfies some kind of disturbed yearning within. I can’t get enough of seeing her take me, writhe, and beg for more. Even better when she can’t stop herself from wanting to taste me. A groan almost slips from my lips. I scrub my face and curse my lack of control.
I’m not even wearing the mask and already all I can think of is fucking her again. Maybe it was never the curse driving my instincts. Maybe this is just me—reprobate and no good for her,because I’m only a distraction who’ll stop her from achieving great things.
