“What else would you like to hear from me?”
“Oh, I don’t know!” I shout, throwing my arms up. “Maybe that you’re sorry. Maybe that you feel fucking bad for letting Cielo live in that hovel while he does your goddamn bidding, and you let him get carted away like he did something wrong!”
“He did do something wrong. He broke our laws.”
I stare at him, my eyes wide enough that they practically pop out of my head. “He broke the law helping me save you!”
Rathyn swallows heavily, then says, “I did not ask for you to save me. I do not need help from a human.”
I feel that like a slap. It fucking hurts. Here I am, falling head over heels, thinking this is different, but fuck. Zane was right. Theyaremonsters.
“You’re all liars. You act like you’re so much better than us, but I’ve seen the way you treat your own kind. I see the way you think about humans.” I take a step back away from him as he walks closer.
“And what is the difference between us, Everest? Is it not the same to find your people starving? Sleeping on the streets? Dying of preventable illness because you refuse to care for them?”
“Like the way you care for yours?” I snap. “Like the way you lie about the Tarek and the war?”
His entire body stiffens.
“Like the way you lied to me when you made me believe I was yours?”
“I did not lie. You are mine,” he hisses. He stalks forward and tugs on the chain between my nipples. “You have signed a document stating this.”
“I know, and it was a mistake.” I duck away from his touch. “I thought you were different. I thought what we had was…”
“What?” he presses into my silence.
I thought you were mine, I think to myself, but I don’t let him hear it. It doesn’t matter anyway.
Shaking my head, I turn away. “Whatever. I understand now.” Walking to the counter, I snatch up Cielo’s coat. If Rathyn isn’t going to do anything for him, I will. There are other Vyastil in the city. Other Vyastil who can tell me how to help him.
I don’t need Rathyn anymore.
He’sthe one who needsme.
“I’m leaving.”
“You cannot.”
I meet his gaze. “You can come collect your precious fucking cum whenever you want, and I’ll sleep here because my contract says I have to, but I’m not your prisoner.” I walk to the door and reach for the handle, but his hand catches my elbow. “Don’t.”
“Leaving is foolish.”
“No. Staying here with you is foolish.”
“And where will you go?” he challenges.
“Home. With Zane. Where I should have stayed this entire time. I’ll be back tonight to sleep in my bed.” I wrench away from him and open the door. “But don’t follow me.”
I slam it behind me as I leave and start down the hall toward the stairs. My chest is aching like I swallowed a giant boulder, and the feeling only gets worse as I make it to the street and realize hedidn’tfollow me.
I don’t know why I wanted him to. I don’t know why I want him to fight when all I am to him is a living cum factory.
I don’t know why any of this matters.
But it does.
And god, it’s killing me.
