He paused, looking over his shoulder at his commander, who was watching me like a hawk. Arms now crossed as he leaned against the door frame, his cerulean eyes held mine as he said, “No. The spark first.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, and he narrowed them right back—the message clear, I wasn’t winning this one. Rolling my eyes, my focus shifted to the fae that approached, his delicate features so similar to Myron’s.
“May I?” he asked, reaching a hand out.
I nodded.
He knelt, then looking over his shoulder again, he said, “How deep do you want me to go, Commander?”
“As deep as you can. There’s too much poison coursing through their veins, and you don’t possess the power to clear it fully, so you won’t go deep enough to return their powers.”
My chest squeezed from the betrayal, and I looked at him for any sense of apology; only he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
Endymion refused to look at me the entire time it took his pupilto heal us, and I couldn’t stop the pressure mounting in my chest as the minutes ticked on.
Healed, in fresh linens, and alone at last, I was suddenly nervous as Artton and Sidrick stood on either side of me facing Endymion.
I jumped when he closed the barred door harder than necessary before stalking toward us.
No. Toward Artton.
“Care to explain how the fuck you all ended up in this dungeon?” Endymion demanded with an anger that was at odds with the kindness he’d shown the soldier, and the practiced calm with Thaddeus.
“Not particularly,” Artton said, with a shrug—and while the words were mocking, his tone was dead serious.
Endymion eyes narrowed. “I am in no mood for insolence, Commander. Especially not when your idiocy brought Nyleeria right into Wymond’s grasp.”
“We were on orders,” Sidrick said, and gods was it good to hear his voice free of pain.
Endymion let out a humorless laugh before pinching the bridge of his nose as he said, “You were on orders.” He held that position for a long breath, before releasing his hand. He stared my companions down with a look that would’ve made lesser males cower. “You were onorders?” he bellowed the last word, finally losing his temper. “Well…” He threw his arms in the air, and I’d never seen him this undone. “As long as you were following orders. That makes it so much better that Nyleeria is in literal. Mortal. Danger. Do you know how fucken reckless this was? Seven hells, if Lanacia wasn’t in labor when Nyleeria was brought here, she’d already be dead. What orders could’ve possibly possessed you to risk that?”
The summer commanders shared a glance, but stayed silent.
As if reading that one silent exchange, Endymion’s face dropped. He shook his head, and I could physically see him putting the pieces together. “I’ll give it to you,” he finally said, sounding more level, “a double assassinationwould’veprotected her. I’ll even give you credit for leveraging the most powerful unaras in existence. Not tomention using the spark to rip a hole in the border any other blockades—which you absolutely would’ve needed to even think about getting close to the palace. And fuck me, you even knew not to valen.” He was pacing now, and feelings of anger—no, anxiety… no… damn it, I couldn’t quite place what it was—weighed heavy on my chest.
“I’m sorry,” Caius’ second finally said, and all eyes shifted to him.
Endymion stopped pacing and turned to face us again. “Yeah, Artton.” He sighed. “I bet you are.” And for some reason, those words hit harder than when he’d raised his voice.
My heart ached as I felt Endymion’s warring emotions as if it was my battle. I rubbed at my chest, trying to dispel that unrelenting ache that ceased hounding me. He tracked the movement and gaze shifted to mine, softening the second our eyes locked.
Our situation was dire and that nothing good was on the horizon, but as his gaze held mine, I was flood with a deep sense of relief and safety, like he’d distracted that hound with a bone to offer me peace, if only for that moment.
“You’re okay?” I asked, my voice cracking.
His mask shattered into a million pieces right before my eyes as if my words had offered him the same peace. I couldn’t take my eyes off the unguarded male who was now close enough that I was forced to tilt my chin up to stay under his spell.
I paid no mind to Artton and Sidrick as the stepped away.
Endymion swallowed hard, his throat bobbing with the effort. “I’m okay,” he finally said, voice gentle. “I’m sorry my absence worried you.”
“More than I realized,” I said as wave after wave of emotions flooded me.
“I hate that you’re here.”
That truth sank in every cell of my body, as I whispered, “I hate that you’re here, too.”
Leaning in, he lifted his hand to my face slowly, and unlike the moment we shared in the Summer Court, my body leaned in as ifhe’d become my center of gravity. I bathed in his gaze as the backs of his fingertips brushed against my cheek with a feather-light touch.
