“Let me make something clear to you, Cadence,” he said. “You don’t dictate the terms. You belong to me. Your body, your soul, your godsdamned heart.” His tongue darted out, wetting his lower lip. “And I’ll do anything,anything, to protect what’s mine. This is who I am, Cadence. That will never change.”
“I know,” I said, not bothering to hide the sadness in my tone.
It was why I needed to leave him, even though part of me desperately wanted to stay.
“Please, Temptress, don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re saying goodbye.”
His eyes searched mine, looking for the truth I couldn’t say out loud.
And then he kissed me.
Hard. Bruising.
I tasted copper where his teeth split my lip, but I didn’t pull away. My body was already trembling, wanting things I refused to admit.
Iwassaying goodbye.
Our time was almost over, and soon enough, I would walk away.
To protect my brother, my child… my heart.
Ryker and I may have been fated mates, but together, we were bonded ruination.
If I stayed, he would kill me. His need to possess me, to keep me, would eat away at me until only a husk remained. And inmy bitterness, I would ruin him, unravel him until he no longer recognized himself.
He might not want to accept it, but it was better this way.
For both of us.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Ryker
We advanced through the ravine at a careful pace, guiding the wagon over the uneven ground. Every guard kept a vigilant eye on the woods, scanning the dense trees for any hint of an ambush.
The massive warhorse beneath me grew restless, tossing his head from side to side, ears twitching with each sound.
“Easy, boy,” I said, running my hand through the loose strands of his mane.
He knew we weren’t alone in our isolation, and his instincts were screaming at him to flee.
I drew my cloak tight around me, my features obscured in the dwindling light. The guards moved past me without so much as a glance, unaware of the truth concealed beneath my hood. It would remain that way until I rooted out the traitor in our ranks. And when I did, even the gods would stand powerless against my wrath.
The hunt should have been enough to occupy my mind. Every snap of a twig or distant rustle in the brush kept me alert, but my thoughts kept circling back to her.
To Cadence.
She was at the palace, I reminded myself.
Safe.
Riordan, Eamon, and Malesh would see to that, even if it meant dying before letting her come to any harm.
And yet, I couldn’t shake the dread gnawing at my insides. I felt caged, my teeth bared at the thought of someone else getting to her first.
