I knew I’d miss him with everything inside me, but when he showed up at my door, it was bittersweet. He carried a covered tray that smelled incredible. “I thought you might be hungry. I have herb-crusted chicken, roasted vegetables with honey glaze, wild rice, and fresh bread still warm from the oven.”
“That sounds amazing. Thank you.”
He set the tray on the table in front of the couch, then straightened, his dark eyes scanning me with that same protective intensity he’d shown me from the moment we met.
“And I brought enough for two again.” He sat on one end of the couch and patted the cushion to his left. “Sit. Eat with me.”
I hesitated only a second before sinking onto the couch. We ate in relative silence at first, the clink of silverware the only sound breaking the tension humming between us.
The food was perfect, but I could barely taste it. Every time Kastiel’s gaze lingered on me a little too long, the mate bond flared, sending another soft spark dancing along my skin. It feltmore natural now, like my reaction to him was meant to be. But it was too late because I had to leave.
My mind was whirling with the unfairness of it all, making it hard to eat, let alone speak.
As we finished dinner, I knew I couldn’t let him keep risking everything for me. When he got up to leave, I went to my toes to press a kiss against his cheek. “Thanks for dinner. It was perfect.”
Flames swirled in his eyes, his demon close to the surface. “My pleasure, little spark.”
Tears slipped down my cheeks when the door shut behind him. I let them flow freely until I straightened my spine and headed into the bedroom.
I packed a small bag with a few outfits The Abyss had provided, the newest book I’d been reading, and the soft robe I’d slept in. My hands shook as I wrote a short note for him, pressing the pen to paper through blurred vision.
Kastiel,
I’m so sorry. I never wanted to put you in this position. You’ve been kinder to me than I deserve, and I can’t keep risking everything you’ve built here. Please don’t come after me. I’ll be okay.
Thank you for believing in me when I couldn’t believe in myself.
— Isolde
I folded the note and left it on the nightstand where he would find it. Then I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for the hotel to grow quiet, my heart aching with every passing minute.
Hours passed, and the hallways grew still. When the clock on the wall showed it was well past midnight, I slipped the bag over my shoulder and cracked open the door to the hallway. The corridor was empty, the wards humming softly.
My heart ached as I took one last look at the door to Kastiel’s suite. The mate bond pulled at me, warm and pleading, begging me to stay.
But I couldn’t.
I stepped into the hallway and closed the door softly behind me, tears blurring my vision as I headed toward the elevator. And I reminded myself that I was doing this for him.
Even if it felt like tearing my own heart out.
8
KASTIEL
The connecting door between our suites had never felt so thick. I paced my quarters like a caged animal, shadows writhing at my feet as the mate bond pulled at me with relentless force. Every instinct screamed that something was wrong. Isolde’s presence on the other side of the wall felt too quiet.
I couldn’t shake how her green eyes had shimmered with unshed tears even as she tried to smile when I’d left after dinner. The guilt I’d seen there had twisted something deep in my chest.
I stopped pacing and pressed my palm to the door, feeling for her through the wards. The faint crackle of her aura was there, but it was moving. Heading toward the hallway.
She was leaving.
The realization hit me like a physical blow. My demon roared, fury and fear blending into a single, deafening demand—stop her.
I moved before conscious thought caught up. I raced through my living room, and the door to the hallway flew open under my touch. I crossed the short distance toward the elevator in long strides and found Isolde with a small bag slung over her shoulder, her eyes wide with shock and guilt.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
