“How can we trust you?” Bastien asked.
If we agreed to this deal, we’d be performing an act that would be more than just a spell. It would be a life-changing event.
Gorrath had an answer ready for that, too. “You heardChastity. She’ll have my balls if I don’t protect her from Shayla. If I help Claire break the curse on her choker, you two will bring down Shayla for me.”
Bastien ran a frustrated hand through his blond hair, mussing it more than it already was. Then he took my hand, twining his cold fingers with mine. I struggled to make eye contact with him, afraid of revealing my true feelings. I could barely draw in a full breath.
Gorrath leaned closer to us, his black eyes creasing at the corners. “Let me make one thing very clear. I’m not interested in forcing myself on either of you. This deal is either consensual or it doesn’t happen. I can find another way to get rid of Shayla.”
Bastien withdrew his hand from mine and gripped the bridge of his nose like he was physically in pain. “I need a moment with my wife. Alone.”
The demon didn’t argue or make a snarky comment. He simply clasped his hands behind his back and strode from the room. When the door was shut, the space felt too small to hold everything that was unsaid.
Bastien gestured to a rough-hewn table with benches, and we took a seat beside each other. My back was pressed into the raw edge of the table. Hands folded in my lap. Bastien set his sword and cane on the floor beside his feet before propping his elbows on his knees and resting his face in his hands.
“Are we honestly considering this?” he asked, speaking to the floor.
The guilt of it all was ready to split me in two. I was doing this to him. It was my past. My family. My choker. My curse. It was hurting him.
“Tell me what you’re feeling,” I said. “Don’t hold anything back.”
He took a breath that sounded like ithurt. “Where do I even start? The idea of him touching you—it makes me want tokillhim.” He turned to me, head resting in one hand. His blue eyes glassy. “It reminds me of when I caught you with Alec. Drunk and topless. His hands…” His voice broke off. “I’d been so close to killingeveryonein that room.”
Tears flooded my vision as well. That was the night everything changed. He’d given me the bloodstone that I was wearing right now and told me I was his mate. Then he’d dug out plants in his greenhouse, not just to make room for me in his garden, but in his heart. He’d put his life on the line, over and over again, just to keep me at his side. He even agreed to create an heir, when it was the one thing he was afraid of, just to help me unlock my powers.
He’d done it all without a second thought. But this,thisfelt like a step too far. And I didn’t want to cause him this kind of pain. Nor did I want to lose his love or trust. “If this is how you feel, then it’s not worth it,” I said. “We’ll find another way.”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “I need to know something. And I need you to be honest with me.”
“Always.”
“Do youwanthim?” he asked. “I know how magnetic he can be.”
“No, of course not,” I answered immediately. Truthfully. “I don’t want anything with him. Having his power ismorethan enough.”
The tension in his shoulders eased slightly. “But doesn’t the idea of him touching me disgust you?”
I scooted closer to him on the bench so that our thighs were touching. I ran my hand through his hair, carefully pushing it behind his ear. He watched me. “No. It doesn’t.”
“How?” he asked, sitting up.
“He is nothing. Not to either of us. Not in the way that we are to each other. He said it himself. He isjust an amplifier. Of our bond. Our love. Unless,” I hesitated, “does he still mean something to you?”
“No,” he said flatly. Then, after a beat, “Whatever we were before—whatever mistakes I made—that was averylong time ago. So long that I can’t even remember wanting him. My human memories are hazy, like a story I heard from someone else. But I haven’t wished for him back in my life. Not one bit.”
He exhaled, then added, “But I do want this power for you. Selfishly, I do want to be with you forever.”
The tears that had been threatening to spill over my lashes broke free. Two fat tears rolled down my cheeks. “Me too.” I dragged in my next breath. “But I won’t trade your trust for it. If this would destroy our relationship, then eternity means nothing.”
He leaned in and kissed my tears, catching the salty trails with his lips. His cool breath felt good on my flushed cheeks. With my face between his palms, he lifted my chin until we were eye to eye. “I would give you my immortality if I could.”
The demonic horn that was hiding in my skirt pocket began to vibrate. Bastien and I both glanced down at it. Slowly, he let go of my face to fish it out of my pocket. Once it was free, he held the vibrating horn between us.
The ceiling rumbled again. More dust rained down.
Neither of us moved, but something dark and dangerous flashed in his eyes. He slid off the bench and dropped to his knees in front of me.
“If I’m going to consider this, I need to know if I can handle it or not.”
