"Kat's a coffee nerd, and she's cute. You're..." I gestured to all of him. "You.Cuteprobably isn't the right word, but you're something." I'd never been attracted to him, but most of the city was. I'd really never been attracted to anyone but Grayson, which most likely said something about me that I didn't want to hear.
He snorted. "That was a solid effort at pretending you think I'm hot."
"It was worth a try."
"Tell me what it's like, not having everything revolve around the price of your magic."
"When he touched me, everything felteasy," I admitted. "You know what it's like for me. Nothing is easy. But it was. And then he let go, and it just... it's a lot. Life. The magic. Trying to make a decision. All of it is a lot, and he wants me to seal the bond."
"So seal the bond."
"It's not that simple, Dare."
"Why not?"
"I'd be living away from all of you. My life would revolve around him."
"So?"
"So, you need me."
"I'll break into his mansion and snuggle with both of you when I need you, Mer. You know that. This isn't about me. It's about you."
"How is it about me?"
He snorted. "You really want to get into it?"
"I don't know." I looked down at my latte. "Maybe it's a little about me. I just... I don't think I could handle it. Him. He's a lot, you know? Even more than everything else."
"I'm a lot. Callum's a lot. Liv's a lot. You handle all of us just fine. With magic like yours, everything is a lot. You'rejust scared, Merrily. Don't call it anything else. It's fear."
"Of course I'm scared. He's chaos, and I'm... not."
"You're whatever you decide to be. And you can handle chaos. Like I said, you handle the rest of us just fine."
"I don't know."
"What's the alternative? Suffering for the rest of your life?"
"He's going to mate with someone else." My nostrils flared. "A dragon shifter. I don't even know if they're male or female. What if he prefers men? What if he hates that I'm the only person he's been able to visit for a century? What if I'm too vanilla, or he's kinkier than I know? He hasn't even brought up his true form. What if he doesn't want to share that side of him? What if he wants me to change? What if?—"
"Stop. Breathe."
I sucked in a long, deep breath.
"The shadows around you are thinning," he said.
I looked down. He was right.
My stomach clenched fiercely. "He must be fighting someone. What if he gets hurt? He said the other royals have been trying to kill him. Eventually, someone's going to succeed, right? They?—"
“Mer, Grayson could killmeif he wanted to, and I’m one of the most powerful immortals in the city.God knows I don't have enough survival instincts left to take down someone who genuinely wants to live. He'll be fine."
"The coffee shop will fix that for you," I said shakily.
"Lie to me all you want, Mer. We both know the truth. I've only got another handful of years left in me before the rest of you are going to have to put me out of my misery."
"Don't say that."
