The artificial amber light highlights the wrinkle between his auburn brows as they pull together. “Help who? Him, or me?”
“Both, I hope.”
Gabe’s rosy lips pull down. “Where’s your uniform?”
Warmth floods my cheeks as I glance at the layered tunics I borrowed from Kalden.
“Couldn’t stand the stench anymore,” I say instead, figuring the truth won’t help us win my ex-husband over.
With his mouth thinning, those midnight-blue eyes rove around my body, lingering on my exposed legs, arms, and face. “You aren’t ...glowing.”
I fold my arms against my chest. “The nightstone I inhaled—from the missile you nearly hit me with—is still in my system.”
“I didn’t . . .” Gabe lifts his hands, as if to indulge his habit of running his fingers through his hair, but the weighty chain tugs on his wrists. “I was trying to protect you.”
“I didn’t need your protection. Not from them.”
“These missiles,” Niles begins, using our conversation as a segue. “How many did you bring with you?”
Gabe swallows. “A dozen.”
“And you’ve only shot off two?” He nods, and Niles presses, “By that count, there should be ten missiles left in the bag you handed to me. There are only eight.”
It isn’t phrased like a question, so Gabe just blinks.
I roll my eyes. “Where are the other two missiles, Gabe?”
His shoulders rise, then fall. “Must’ve dropped them at some point. Maybe back in the meadow, or when we slept together beneath the trees. I’m curious, Elle. Were you already lying to me then, or did the deception come later?”
Niles’s wide gaze flicks to mine, and I shake my head. “First off, I fell asleepbesideyou, after making it very clear I had no interest in pursuing anything further than friendship. And second, to be honest, yes. I’d begun my training with Kalden prior to that night, though I didn’t intentionally wield the sun’s power until Yvonne nearly diedthe next morning.”
Gabe’s features twist into a snarl. “How could you?”
“How couldI?” I laugh darkly. “We were sent out here to die, Gabe! Me. Gem. The others, too. Did you really expect me to play the good little martyr?”
“Of course not! I snuck out for you, Elle. To save you.”
“I’m not your wife anymore, Gabe. You made sure of that ten years ago, when you cast me aside out of fear that my infertility would affect your duties to Caligo. But did you ever consider how it affectedme? Having the dream I spent myentirelife planning for ripped away by my own body? I hated myself. Every time my cycle restarted, it broke me. And instead of helping me put together those pieces, you stomped on them and threw me out. But it’s been a decade, and I’m no longer some broken thing that can only be made whole by a man. I found a way to hone my jagged edges into a weapon, to protect myself and the people who were there for me when you weren’t.”
His mouth falls open, but no words come out, so I continue, “So, forgive me if I refuse to stand here and beg for your understanding. The only thing I’m sorry for is not entrusting Gem with my intentions sooner, but I’m not sorry for finding a way to survive without your help.”
My labored breaths fill the stretching silence until Niles finally asks, “You two were married?”
I turn towards the Sol. “Yes.”
“Shit, little nova. You should’ve told me sooner. I wouldn’t have made you?—”
“It’s fine,” I say, brushing off his apology. “You didn’t make me do anything. I came here to help.”
Gabe’s wan face pales further. “You sound different, Elle.”
My chest heaves with a sigh. “That’s because I am, but not because of the sun or the Sols.”
His jaw clenches as he turns his head away.
“Do you have any more questions I can help with?”
Niles rubs a palm along the back of his neck. “Uh, I think I’ll swing by again later by myself.”
