“I wasn’t alone,” I answered.
Except that pleasure hadn’t lasted more than a moment before the old me saw the way his eyes had glowed, the purple that said exactly what he was.
A monster was terrifying, sure, but a corrupted? It was like having a barking dog scaring me, then spotting a snarling tiger. I knew which was the larger threat.
He walked up to the old me, holding his hand out as though he were some prince. The idiot I’d been reached out and took it.
“Why did you do that? I’ve always wondered. You knew what I was, so why did you reach for me?”
“The monsters had calmed after the portal closed. I thought maybe it was the same for you.” I paused, then sighed. “Or maybe I was just an idiot who was so afraid of being alone I’d have reached out foranything,even you.”
“Honestly? I think you sealed your fate there. By reaching out like that, you made me sure that I’d never let you go.”
“You’ve survived ten years. You don’t need me, so why do this?”
“You really havenoidea, do you? You still think the dungeon is just a dungeon, that they’re just pockets of space, disconnected from everything else?” He shook his head. “It is so much bigger than you know. It took me time to figure it out, but I know it, now. I’ll leave only long enough to get you, then we’ll go back to where we belong, because that world you’re in, it doesn’t have a place for me, and it doesn’t have one for you either, not anymore.”
“Theywon’t let you.”
He barked out a hard laugh. “Oh, love, you think I can’t handle them? I feel like this is all a gift to me, that I can take you backandhurt them at the same time. They left me here, started this all. In fact, if they’d simply followed orders, none of this wouldhave happened. I would have never been corrupted, wouldn’t have been left here, wouldn’t have found you. None of that would have happened. You should probably be angrier at them—they’re at fault for it all.”
I shook my head, because I didn’t believe it. No matter what happened in The Pitt before, I refused to blame them. Months ago, maybe I would have fallen for it. I had looked for any reason to hate them, anyone to blame, but now?
I refused to do that. “I’m not going back to you.”
“You think they’ll stop me?”
I met his gaze and said something I should have said long ago, something Ifinallyfelt ready to say. “If they don’t—I’ll stop you.”
He laughed, and that sickening sound followed me as I woke, as the dream shattered around me, leaving him behind.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ingram
Yun bolted upright so quickly that she nearly took my nose out.
I recalled what had happened with Kenyon before and had to acknowledge that even if we had collided, she’d have taken the bulk of the damage.
Thankfully, my reflexes meant I moved to the side fast enough to avoid anything being broken or harmed.
She was panting hard, her eyes chasing around the room as though looking for danger. I didn’t stop her, didn’t butt in. It was better for her to realize where she was.
When she did, she frowned. “Why am I in your bed?” She glanced down her front, then tossed me a glare. “Did you do anything weird to me when I was asleep?”
“Please. What do you take me for?”
“A pervert.”
“Sure, but a pervert who waits for you to be awake to join in on the perversion, thank you very much.” I crossed my arms to prove the point, playing along as though she had horribly offended me.
She hadn’t, of course, but a little outrage was fun.
“A pervert with standards—who’d have thought?” She let out a long breath, finally appearing more at ease. “Really though, how’d I get here? Last I remember—” She froze, a telling pausethat put all my senses on high alert. After she swallowed, she went on. “I was at Medical for the guide checkups.”
I didn’t narrow my eyes, keeping my expression even. There was no good reason to let her know how suspicious I found her behavior.
She’d been run down recently, restless, on edge. Sure, no one enjoyed medical, unless they had a weird kink—and that even went beyond my own—but I couldn’t shake the feeling it was more than that.
