I smirked, unable to help myself. “It was never going to happen. Cadence said he likes women.”
Riordan rounded on me. “I like women, and I also like men. Maybe Callum is waiting for the right man to broaden his horizons.”
Shaking my head, I started down the hall, my brother in tow.
“I’m serious, Ryker, you better not fuck this up for me.”
After a beat of silence, Riordan’s hand shot out, gripping my forearm as he pulled me to a stop.
“You crossed a line.”
I craned a brow, and Riordan huffed.
“Another one. One of many. Call it what you want, but you fucked up, Brother.”
“I know what I did,” I said, my jaw clenching.
“Do you?” Riordan’s tone was uncharacteristically harsh. “Because from where I stand, you’ve just sabotaged any chance you had with your mate.”
His words had me grinding my teeth. It was impossible to work on my relationship with Cadence while my enemies sought to destroy her. At least when she was by my side, there was someone who never looked away. Someone who would obliterate the realm just to keep her breathing.
I did what none of them had the stomach to do. I ensured she couldn’t be broken.
“You’re unraveling, Ryker. The way you treat Cadence, it isn’t protection, it’s possession. You need to wake up before it’s too late.”
I wrenched my arm from his grip. “I am the only one seeing clearly.”
“You’ve been spiraling since you realized she was your mate. This isn’t about keeping her safe. It’s about keepingher.”
The shadows at my feet thickened, responding to the rage building in my chest. “And what would you have me do? Let her go? Let her face my enemies alone while I sit back and respect her fucking autonomy?”
“I would have given her a choice, Ryker. I would have trusted her to make her own decisions.”
“How fucking noble.” He didn’t understand. None of them did. Losing Cadence wouldn’t only drive me mad, it would fucking annihilate me. There was no point to a world where she did not exist, and I’d rather her hate me than see her perish.
“You claim to protect her, but you’re becoming the very thing she needs protection from.”
My shadows coiled around my calves like serpents, climbing higher, ready to attack.
“Careful, Brother.”
“No, you be careful! Despite what Callum thinks, I do love Cadence.”
A primal growl rumbled inside my chest without warning, but Riordan didn’t stop.
“You lock her away in your chambers as though she is some rare artefact, or you find new and creative methods to tighten the collar at her throat.”
My feet moved of their own accord as I began pacing. “She’ll understand. Eventually.”
My brother stepped closer, gentling his tone. “Will she? Or will she just hate you a little more with each passing day?”
When I said nothing, Riordan sighed. “There is a middle ground between imprisonment and abandonment, Ryker.”
His voice had taken on that infuriatingly reasonable tone, but I was about to destroy his illusions.
“, the attack on the palace, I killed a woman. Do you remember?”
Riordan’s face paled, but he nodded.
