Talton whistles, the flutter of his wings echoing through the temple. “There you are. Did I hear correctly? There’s a problem?”
“You are my problem,” Roane grinds out. “All of you. Go away and leave me in peace.”
“Gods, you’re beautiful. Since the moment I saw you… I knew you’d break my heart.”
He says such things and then he goes and breaks mine. Why? Why pretend he likes me, desires me, and then say he wants me to go? I can’t trust that persona he donned earlier, not anymore. It was yet another lie. This man is a persistent liar and a deceiver.
I want Naida… I want my mom. I’m a grown-up and it’s embarrassing, and I have to stop.
He didn’t promise you anything,I remind myself.Sure, he said you’d break his heart, but he also said he’d dreamed of getting between your legs. That’s not exactly bonding mate material. It wasn’t a marriage proposal, nor a promise of eternal love. You heard only what you wanted to hear.
I’m shaking. I deceived myself, stopped looking for a way out of this world because… because of him.Admit it, Aline. You wanted to stay with him.
Now that’s cleared up, I inject steel into my spine. Why wouldn’t he want me out of the way? He has his family back. I’m the one who almost broke them apart by poking my nose into his business. His words, not mine. He doesn’t need me around.
He never has.
I step out from behind the column and I know the moment they notice me because they both stop and stare. I lift my chin, swearing to myself not to let them see how upset I am.
“Welcome back,” I say.
Ardruna growls. “How much did you hear?”
“I heard enough.”
Talton flutters down to land on her back. “I only caught the tail-end of the conversation, so what did I miss? Will someone fill me in?”
Roane is silent, his gaze pinning me like a moth to a board. His jaw is set, his brows shadowing his eyes.
“Roane said there might be a way to get Aline out of here,” Ardruna eventually says.
“Out of the temple?”
Ardruna hums. “Out of this world.”
“That’s impossible,” Talton says. “Nobody can escape this world.”
“But what if there is a way? You’d like to go home, right?” Ardruna gives me a look that manages to be both sympathetic and annoyed.
“Of course.” I scowl at them. “Who wouldn’t want to get away from you lot?”
Ardruna and Talton leave soon after to hunt, but for some reason, Roane lingers. He crouches down and starts the fire going, long black hair hiding his face.
I stand beside him, telling myself not to ask but unable to hold back. The hurt smarts too badly. “You told Ardruna you don’t like me. I heard you, you know.”
“Of course I don’t like you.”
I wince. “Oh, great. I could have sworn you sang a different tune last night with your face between my legs.”
His mouth compresses into a thin line. “I wanted to fuck you. That’s all. You’re confused, human.”
“Then why didn’t you fuck me?” I throw the crude words back at him. “If that was all you wanted?”
“I got bored with you before I even started.”
Gritting my teeth, I fold my arms over my chest. “I see. Well, good thing you caught yourself before you lost control. Oh, wait, I forgot. You came in your pants, didn’t you?”
His lips pull back, baring his sharp teeth. “I was fantasizing about someone else.”
