I blow out a choppy, frustrated breath. “He was compelled by the drink. And I came home late again. He confessed some—lustfulfeelings that I didn’t know he had.”
Dessin doesn’t seem surprised by the last bit. “Did you tell him what I told you?”
I nod. “Only after he struck me.”
Dessin moves away, reaching for the door. “I’ll rip his lungs from his chest.” But I snatch his hand from making contact with the handle.
“Please,” I whimper. “Don’t leave me.”
He clutches me tighter. Presses his cheek firmly to the side of my head.
“God, I should have been there.” And there’s truth and regret in his voice—heavier and colossally larger than I can imagine.
I unlock my arms and lightly push against his chest to face him.
“Where were you, Dessin?” My voice breaks, and new tears form in my eyes.
His face falls along with his shoulders, and he shuts his eyes as he clenches his jaw in utter defeat. “I wish I could tell you why I couldn’t protect you this time.”
A thought lands like a meteor in my mind, and the tears stop abruptly. “You—you knew this would happen. That’s why you made me stay late. Did you know he’d hit me if I was late? Didyouset this up?!” I shove him away from me, and he doesn’t resist—he takes two steps back.
“No.”
“You must have! Is this part of the game? Set me up for my demise? You control everyone differently. Was this your plan all along? To make my worst nightmare come to life?” My voice is rising with every sentence I spit at him. The pieces are all falling together in unison.
“That’s not what’s happening, Skylenna,” he says tensely, agitation narrowing his eyes and cocking his head to the right.
“What? Now you have little to say?Nowyou’re angry? I finally see through your antics, and now you don’t have an explanation?” My fists are tight and shaking with embarrassment, anger, betrayal.How could he put me through this?
“No.” His one word passed through his lips in a low warning. But I cannot stop. My blood is boiling, and it sends steam through my ears as I continue.
“Then WHAT?!”
He moves two steps closer and slides his hands on either side of my face.
“BECAUSE WHAT MASTEN WOULD HAVE DONE WAS MUCH WORSE!”
And it’s as if the Emerald Mountains shake from the anger of his words.
What?
“I was keeping you here, so Masten did not have the chance to spend time with you yesterday. I knew he wouldn’t wait up late for you, but I didn’t think Aurick would jump to that extreme.”
How did he know Masten wanted to spend the day with me?
“You’re going to have to help me understand how you know all of this? Because I’m becoming more and more convinced that you can hear my thoughts.” And that on its own is a mortifying thought.
“No, I cannot hear your thoughts. Your body language is enough to pick up on.” He lowers his voice and relaxes his hands that are holding my face. “My brain works differently as you’ve been able to experience during the time you’ve known me. My reach is quite expansive, and I am able to keep tabs on certain individuals. Masten being one of them.”
He was keeping an eye on Masten… And something he was planning caused Dessin to resort to keepingmein his line of sight to ensure my safety.
“What was Masten planning?”
“I—can’t go into detail with you about that right now.” He sighs. “But he’s not going to bother you now. I can tell you that much.”
“But—”
“Skylenna, I know this is difficult for you. I do. I understand I am not easy to trust. But I need you to try.” He shakes his head and drops his hands. “No, I need you to do better than try. There’s a feeling of trust and comfort that you felt when you first met me… despite everything you were told about me. You trusted me. Am I wrong?”
