I tried to pull my hand free, but he leaned closer instead, his voice dropping. “You think anyone else is going to understand you?” he demanded. “The world out here doesn’t know what to do with people like you, Elior. They’ll lock you up, drug you, or tear you apart piece by piece. I’m the only one who knows how to keep you safe.”
My gut twisted with a sudden urge to throw up.
“That’s not—” My words tangled. “That’s not fair.”
“Jace.” Patel’s voice cut through the room like a knife. He pushed off the wall and stepped closer, his expression thunderous. “He wants you to leave.”
Jace turned, bristling. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“But it does,” Patel replied, his gaze focused on Jace’s hand on my wrist. “Let him go. This has gotten way too heated. Go home and cool off, agent.”
For a heartbeat, I thought Jace might argue. His nostrils flared, his chest heaving like he was barely containing something feral and furious.
Then, abruptly, he released me.
My arm dropped back to my side, aching.
Jace looked at my wrist, then grimaced. His eyes met mine, pleading. “Elior,” he said, softer now, like he was trying to pull me back in with nothing but my name. “I didn’tmean—”
I was quiet, the exhaustion and stress weighing on me.
After a minute, Jace stood, his chair scraping against the floor. He raked a hand through his hair, breathing hard.
“I’ll come back tomorrow,” he said. “I’m sorry for hurting you. Get some sleep.”
Jace turned and stalked out of the room, the door shutting behind him with a heavy, final click.
The sound echoed.
I felt hollowed out by it.
Patel waited a moment, then approached the bed. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “That shouldn’t have gone that far.”
I nodded, though my throat felt too tight to speak.
“If you need anything,” he added, “press the call button. A nurse will come. I’ll make sure he doesn’t come back tonight.”
I nodded again.
When he left, the room felt impossibly empty.
The warmth from the two men quickly faded, leaving only the sterile chill of the hospital and the steady, indifferent beeping of machines. I stared at the wall, at the pale paint and the faint shadow of the IV pole, and tried to make sense of the wreckage inside me.
Father was gone.
The Covenant was gone.
And the man I had clung to—who had felt like safety and all things good in the world—had been lying to me from the beginning.
3
Jace
A week and a half had passed.
Every day, I came and stood watch outside Elior’s hospital room. Every day, I tried to talk to him. Some days were better than others.
Today hadn’t been one of them.
