Her eyes closed, and she shook her head.
“Leave, Abram.”
“El…”
“You shouldn’t have come. There was no reason for you to be here. If anything, you should be happy that I will be so busy with my duty that I can’t annoy you any longer.”
I hated that she always thought I was annoyed by her.
“Being married won’t keep you that busy. I’m sure you’ll be back to annoying me in no time.”
Her attention moved to the floor.
“It’s what comes after getting married that will keep me busy.”
My skin crawled at the tone of her voice.
“Which is?”
“My duty to the coven is to produce an heir. So all my focus will be on that.”
My eyes flashed red, and I couldn’t stop it when her eyes met mine in the mirror.
“You’ll be too busy getting laid to annoy me, is that what you’re saying?”
Fuck, I really did not like that thought. Heat crawled up my spine. The man who looked like me would get to have her forever. Her children would have his bronze skin and her eyes, and the thought made me sick.
“Yes. So, be glad that I am being forced to complete my duties. It means we don’t have to see each other—hardly at all, if ever again.”
“I don’t know why you think that would make me happy.” I glared.
“You need to not come back.” Her words sucked the air from my lungs and began suffocating me. “I need to focus on finding my husband.”
I opened my mouth to argue with her, but I saw the tears silently fall from her eyes and knew she was right.
“My life is to complete my duties—you, out of everyone, should understand the importance of that.”
“Yes, we all have duties, but for them to run your life like this—”
She whipped around, eyes blazing in anger.
“My duty is to the coven. It is the only reason I am alive. The gods know my parents didn’t actually want me. So, I will find a husband. I will produce an heir—or two or seven. Then I will spend my life giving myself to a coven that doesn’t like me and a husband who is only with me for my title. That is my duty.”
“Elowyn.” I stepped toward her, but she moved away.
“Don’t pretend to actually care about me, Abram. I know how you feel; you’ve made it very clear over the years that just my name annoys you.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“That’s not true.”
“I’m tired, and I have to figure out which man to marry, so leave. And I will do everything in my power to make sure we do not have to cross paths for as long as I live.”
“For fuck’s sake, Elowyn. I don’t hate you.”
She turned toward me.
“I’m sure my husband will not like that you linger around, so just leave me alone.”
