She swallows and glances away for a second, and when she answers, her voice is much softer and almost filled with dread. “Why what?”
“You must know how I feel about you by now.”
“I…” Trailing off, she glances down and to the side again.
Orion grips her chin, tilting her head back up so that she meets his gaze again. And when she does, his eyes are so intense that she draws in a small breath.
“I love you, Isera.”
Panic flits across her face, and she pulls her chin out of his grip before shaking her head desperately. “You can’t. You can’t possibly love me.” Throwing out an arm, she stabs a hand towards me. “I’m not kind and thoughtful like Selena.” She flicks her wrist in Lyra’s direction. “I don’t brighten up a room like Lyra.” She shakes her head again, her eyes desolate as she looks at Orion. “I’m cold and unfeeling and difficult.”
“Cold? Yes. Unfeeling? No. Difficult? Most definitely.” He chuckles. Then his expression turns serious again as he holds her gaze with eyes full of sincerity. “I love youbecauseyou are cold and ruthless.”
“Because you want to see what is hiding underneath the cold façade?”
“No. I love you because that is who you are. There is no soft little flower hiding underneath the ice. You are the ice. You arelethal sharpness and ruthless confidence. And that is exactly why I love you.”
She draws in an unsteady breath, staring back at him with big eyes that are swirling with an entire mess of emotions.
“I know howIfeel.” His eyes remain locked on hers, his gaze steady. “And I know that you don’t love me back. Yet. But if you give me the chance, I will?—”
“No,” she blurts out.
“Why not?”
“Because I have nothing to give!” Panic flashes across her entire face as she stares back at him. “I have nothing to give you, Orion. You deserve the world. After everything you have been through, everything you have sacrificed, you deserve the world. And I can’t give it to you. I can’t give you anything.”
“You—”
“I have nothing to give you!” Her voice almost breaks. “My entire life, all I had was the anger I felt towards my mother for abandoning me. Then when I found out what really happened to her, all I had was revenge. And now that I have gotten revenge, there is nothing left.” She stabs her hand against her own chest. “I have nothing left. There is nothing inside. I am empty. I want you to have everything, Orion. But I have nothing to give.”
“You don’t have to give me anything.” Emotions shine in his eyes as he looks at her while shaking his head gently. “Isera, you don’t have to give me anything. You, exactly as you are, is all I want.”
She chokes back a sob.
“In case it wasn’t abundantly clear, I have loved you for weeks.” A soft smile blows across his lips. “I loved you while you were consumed by revenge. I loved you when you felt lost and empty afterwards. And if I had known you while you were only filled with rage against your mother, I would have loved you then as well. You never have to be anything other than exactly who you are. Because I love all versions of you. I loveyou, Isera.”
Her eyes are brimming with tears, and one slides down her cheek as she draws in another unsteady breath.
“I know that you don’t feel the same way,” he says. “But if you give me a chance, if you give us a chance, I?—”
“There’s no need.”
He swallows, looking like he wants to argue, but then just drops his gaze and nods in defeat.
Isera draws in a deep breath, as if bracing herself. “Because I already do.”
Orion snaps his gaze up to her face again. Shock and hope flit across his beautiful features. “What?”
“I love you, Orion.” She lets out a soft laugh and shakes her head, as if she can’t believe that she is saying this out loud. “You make me feel safe and protected. I have never, never in my entire life, felt safe and protected the way I do when I’m with you. And at the same time, you somehow also manage to make me feel powerful and lethal. You challenge me. You make me laugh, even when I don’t want to. And you make me…feelthings. I never used to feel anything except cold fury. But every time I’m with you, I forget how empty I am inside.”
His lips part slightly, and he stares at her like he’s afraid that if he takes his eyes off her for even one second, this is just going to turn out to be a dream that vanishes like smoke in the wind.
“I have been fighting against it for weeks, because I didn’t want to drag you down into the numb emptiness inside me when you have already endured so much. But I love you, Orion. I love you so much that I?—”
She gasps. Jerking back, she blinks hard a couple of times. Then her mouth drops open. With shock crackling across her face, she looks down at her own chest before dragging her gaze back up to Orion.
“We’re fated mates?” she blurts out, her eyes wide.
