“He needs me,” I said simply. “I need him,” I added, voice barely more than a whisper.
Cassian’s expression crumpled. He took a shaky breath, nodding as if forcing the truth to settle into his bones.
“So this would be a bad time to tell you that I’m in love with you?” he asked, painfully hopeful.
The words cracked something inside me. I pulled my hands back as gently as I could.
“Cass!” I hissed.
No, no, no.Why would he say that now? Our friendship had been so easy, so good. Now it felt like a glass pane had splintered between us.
“I’m sorry.” He dragged both hands over his face, expression twisting. “You’re completely lovable. Impossible not to fall for you, Brynn. You’re strong, smart, funny, gorgeous, a horrible cook?—”
“Hey!” I snapped, even as heat flushed my cheeks.
Cassian let out a laugh, but sadness laced through it. “You told me all you could offer was friendship, but I had hope…”
My heart pinched. I’d let us become close. I let him see too much.
“Cassian, he’s mymate.”
Even if Kaelric was furious with me, had said he’d never forgive me, those truths didn’t change what he was to me. What I was to him. My heart wasn’t free. It hadn’t been from the moment he touched me beneath the starlit sky outside Aerlyn.
Cassian’s brows furrowed. “I don’t really know what that means. You’re human. Does it mean anything? How can it be?”
I wished I had those answers myself. “It means something to me. I love him, and I don’t have anything to give anyone else.”
Cassian swallowed hard, blinking fast as though trying to trap tears.
“Okay,” he said softly. “I just want you to be happy. And protected.”
Protected. My stomach twisted. I could only hope Kaelric had sent Godric because things weren’t as dire as they sounded. But the letter he’d left me—cold and final—echoed in my memory.He’d made it clear he would never trust me again, and trust was the soil where love planted roots. Without it, everything died.
“I’m sorry.” I reached out, giving his hand one last squeeze, a silent apology for never being able to give him what he deserved.
He squeezed back, managing a crooked smile. “It’s fine. I saw Mrs. Kinley checking me out yesterday. Maybe I’ll invite her over for dinner.”
A startled laugh burst out of me. Mrs. Kinley was in her sixties and wore more costume jewelry than a royal dowager.
“I’m hoping to make it back for Fiona’s delivery,” I said, sobering. “But if not, take care of her.”
He saluted with mock seriousness. “I’ll be the best uncle ever. I promise.”
I would miss him. More than I cared to admit. These last three months had been stitched together by Elia and Cassian, their friendship the balm that kept me walking when heartbreak threatened to swallow me.
I stepped forward and hugged him tight, burying my face in his shoulder. “If I have a mate, maybe you do, too. You’re such a great guy. One day you’re going to make some woman very, very happy.”
When I pulled back, his eyes were glassy.
“Be safe,” he murmured.
I nodded, throat tight, and turned from the porch. The parting felt heavier than it should have.
Godric waited at the edge of the property, silent as snowfall. I joined him, and we walked together in stillness, the world around us quiet except for the crunch of dirt beneath our feet.
When we were finally out of earshot, I glanced up at him.
“You heard all of that, didn’t you?”
