Finally, he says, voice low, even, impossible to escape, “She’s getting to you.”
I press my lips together, then say, “She’s the Spiritborn. She’s supposed to.”
“Not like this.”
I look at him. He meets my gaze, level and calm.
“She’s under your skin.”
I exhale, slow and sharp. “You think I don’t know that?”
“I think you don’t know what to do about it,” he replies, blunt as ever. “And that’s the problem.”
“Why?” I snap. “Because it’s inconvenient? Because it’s messy?”
“Because it matters,” he says. Quiet. Unflinching.
And damn him—he’s right. Again.
“It can’t happen,” I say. Flat. Final. “And you know why, Rian.”
My voice is low, rougher than I intend, but I don’t care. The line has to be drawn.Held.Because if I let it slip—if I letherslip through—I don’t know if I’ll be strong enough to hold the rest.
And if I fall—everythingdoes.
Rian doesn’t flinch. He just watches me, calm as ever.
Damn him.
“I do know,” he says quietly. “But I also know you’re already past that line you’ve drawn in your mind.”
I clench my jaw—hard enough I think I hear a tooth crack. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does, brother.”
“Itcan’t.”
The words come out like a growl, sharp and final. Because I’ve already made peace with this.
Or—I thought I had.
I shake my head, my gaze fixed on the dirt. “I’m bound to this realm. To its survival. If I let her mean too much, I’ll hesitate. I’ll make the wrong call. And people will die.”
Rian doesn’t answer right away. Then, calmly—“You’re already letting her mean something. And people are still alive.”
That hits harder than I expect.
I lift my head, eyes narrowing. “Don’t.”
He raises his hands in a gesture of peace. I scoff.
“I’m not judging you, Thane. I’m just saying . . . if you already care this much—and you’re still leading—maybe the truth isn’t as dangerous as you think.”
I exhale. Long. Slow. My hands are clenched on my knees, tension coiled beneath my skin like a blade waiting to snap free.
“She deserves more than what I can give her,” I murmur.
Rian studies me for a long moment. Then, softly—almost gently—he says, “Youdon’t know what you can give. Not yet.”
