“Very well noted.” And then I shifted my weight. “But about that… last night… all four of us coming together and you being okay with it all. More than okay, actually. Reveling in it—even the more submissive elements for you. What is… when it was just you and me, did I do something that incited shame in you whenever—”
“No.”
“What?”
“It wasn’t your fault. That’s what you’re asking, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I wouldn’t listen, Win, would I? I wouldn’t work with you, with us. I didn’t take or give properly and… does that make sense?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Last night being able to happen at all… you don’t actually see it?”
“See what?”
“You were the catalyst.”
“Excuse me?”
“Last night wouldn’t have been possible without you. Without me getting a fucking clue because I finally realized how much I’d hurt you and fucked up. Because I’d lost you and it was looking like a permanent thing. So I opened myself up more. I tried to be better. Then Evira and Vaxan came into the picture, and it all started to fall into place—but only because I’d evolved. For you, Win.”
I reached out and grasped his arm, stroking over his tattoos. “It means a lot to me. Thank you.”
“Truth is, you deserved it from the get-go. The moment our relationship turned sexual two years ago.”
He pulled away then, and folded his arms across his chest.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s that thing I need to tell you. It’s a little heavy.”
I tensed. “Okay. I’m listening.”
He tightened his arms around himself and shifted his weight again. “So, the reason I was late to meet Evira last night for the date was because I was with your dad.”
I jolted. “Come again?”
“I reported the attack on Vaxan to Sylas. He took it on as a Requital mission.”
“Huh.”
He looked beyond nervous as he asked, “That’s it?”
“Given the situation, it makes logical sense. Actually, it’s very logicalandcontrolled, especially for you and your tendency not to stop and think first. Vaxan couldn’t allow the incident to be known, meaning reporting it to the Guardian Movement was off the table. The same thing would have happened if Evira had gone after those vampires and their clan. Dragons don’t respond quietly, so it would have exposed her and Vaxan by extension, hence why she didn’t make a move. And my approach was defense, not offense, taking care of the one victimized, not dealing out punishment. You contacting Requital was a loophole to all of that, a clean and covert way to have the situation dealt with.”
“O… kay. I basically went behind your back, and to your dad, no less, and we’re just cool?”
I smiled. “You went to mydad,Zayn. Sylas fucking Morgrave, somebody who at the time was beyond furious with you. All for Vax. None of your actions were for you. In fact, taking them put you in a terribly difficult position. Yet you still did it.” I shook my head to myself. “Fuck, that’s gotta be the most selfless thing you’ve ever done.”
Something occurred to me then. “You said you were actually with him, though,whileRequital was on mission? My dad allowed you to be part of that?”
“Yeah. Although, a lot of it was fake, because he didn’t actually need my help. He had every little thing handled down to the last detail. He was testing me, training me a little.”
Of course.“To be worthy of standing by my side, right?”
“Yes. Those words pretty much exactly.”
