“She doesn’t understand about bonding with aDrake,”Imurmur, my voice rough asIkeep stroking her hair.“Shewould be frightened.”
TheDrakesnarls softly, dissatisfied with my answer.
“Make her understand,”he suggests.
I shake my head.
“She’d be horrified,”Isay quietly.“Youknow she would.”
The words taste bitter on my tongue, butIknowI’mright.
Elowen is sweet…gentle.Devotedto herGoddess, to her temple, to the life she’s built—even if she feels like she doesn’t quite belong.
She wouldn’t understand what it means toBondaDrake.Totake not just me—but him as well.
To acceptbothof us.
My grip tightens slightly in her hair beforeIforce myself to ease it.
“And even if she wasn’t horrified,”Igo on, softer now, “it wouldn’t matter.”
TheDrakestills, suspicious.
“Why?”he asks.
“Because she’s leaving.”
The words hit me whenIsay them out loud, butIforce myself to continue.
“Once she gets the last two elements and works her spell… that’s it.”
I stare down at her face, at the soft curve of her cheek, the faint parting of her lips as she breathes.
“She goes back,”Isay.
Back to before she ever came looking for me…back to a life where, for her,Idon’t even exist.
My chest tightens again, sharper this time.
“We’ll go back too,”Itell myDrake.“Wewon’t even know she was here—won’t rememberanyof this.”
TheDrakegoes quiet—for once, he has nothing to say.
I swallow hard, my throat suddenly tight.Becausethe truth is…Idon’t want that.
I don’t want to forget her, andIdon’t want her to forget me.
The thought of it—of all of the time we’ve spent together just…vanishing, like it never happened—makes something deep in my chest twist painfully.
It feels like losing something precious whenI’mjust barely realizing how precious it really is.
I don’t want to let her go.
“What the fuck amIsupposed to do?”Iwhisper, stroking her hair.“HowcanIkeep her with me?”
But there’s no answer because thereisn’tanythingIcan do.Thisisn’t my choice—it never was.
Elowen wants her life back…her place in the temple…herGoddess.Andwho the hell amIto stand in the way of that?
