He slowly reached over and limply held out his massive hand to where I sat. I wrapped my right hand around his finger as he helped me to my feet. He gave me a solemn yet sweet smile as he gently placed the hilt of the Hyton dagger inmy hand.
My heart pounded as my fingers curled around the cold bronze. Riyan laid back down on the stony earth like I had found him and rolled his head to face me. His twilight eyes were bleakand lifeless.
“Do it,” he said. “You deserve everything the Hytons promised you. You deserve…betterthan me.”
“Riyan,” I whispered. My lip quivered. My throat tightenedwith tremors.
“Please,” he begged. “I killed my grandparents. I hurt my mother. I ruined your life. I refuse to continue living if it means everyone in mylife suffers.”
My chest sunk in and my shoulders squeezed forward. I couldnot breathe.
A tear slowly rolled out of Riyan’s eye. “Make sure it’s a deep cut so it won’t heal,all right?”
My left hand clamped down on my trembling lips as my right hand gripped the dagger. I could make the one fateful cut and make both our problems disappear forever. Riyan begged me to do it. Derrick had empowered me to do it. Every ounce of sense I had screamed at me todo it.
But I was weak. I could not killRiyan Bloodstone.
The triumphant golden light of our bond glowed down my arms and warmed my hand as it wrapped around the cold bronze. The bond glowed brighter and brighter in my fingers until they opened, releasing the dagger to the ground witha clatter.
I moved forward like I was being pulled on a golden tether. The light from the bond warmed each of my footsteps in the rocks as I walked to Riyan and then knelt in front of his face. His watery eyes were as large as each of my fists. His nose was as long as my hand. His breath hit my knees like a wave crashing intothe shore.
I never thought his breath would giveme relief.
“I cannot kill you, Riyan,” I whispered. The golden light flushed in my lips as they formedhis name.
Riyan’s brow was heavy and his jaw was tight. “You shouldn’t have to get your hands dirty, anyway.” He raised up slightly and reached for his sword. “I’lldo it.”
The light shot through the veins inmy arms.
“No!” I screamed. I caught his colossal forearm with both hands and dug my nails intohis skin.
Riyan froze. His eyes moved from the sword to me. He blinked and a tear rolled out of the corner of his eye. “Serafina, just let me do one good thing in my life. Let me save youfrom myself.”
My hands trembled around his arm, but I refused to let him go. Maybe the magic had poisoned my mind and dulled my sense. Maybe Riyan’s beautiful voice had lulled me into a dream where nothing existed but red lilies and faerie stories. Maybe Riyan really did break me underneath him, crushing all my defenses and leaving nothing butraw vulnerability.
Whatever had happened to me, I leaned into the one thought that cried through my muscles, flowed through my blood, and punched through the stone surface ofmy heart.
The darkness did not exist as long asRiyan breathed.
My throat warmed as I spoke. “Riyan, I am terrified of what will happen after tonight, but I cannot face the next sunrise without you. You have to staywith me.”
I gently released my grip on his arm. Riyan looked at me as tears slid down both his cheeks. I reached up and brushed his long blonde strands out of his face and tucked them behind his ear that was the size of my hand. I lowered my hand and slowly wiped away the warm tears on his cheeks. His chest shook. Histhroat twitched.
“Why?” he croaked in a hoarse whisper. “After what I did to you, and tomy grandmother—”
“Because,” I interjected, as if my lips moved on their own. Riyan kept silent as I rifled around in my head, searching for an answer that did not exist. Finally, I raised up on my knees and held the bottom of his trembling jaw in both my hands. I held my breath before the iron cage in my chest opened and released another secret. “Because you are the strongest man alive and…your strength and power is what I always needed. You have to be strong for me because I am soweak that…”
I was too cowardly to finish—I am so weak that I cannot survive without someoneelse’s strength.
Riyan placed his hand behind me, his palm completely shielding my back. His satin voice caressed my cheeks. “I chose you, so this is all my responsibility. If you will not let me fix it, I will get someonewho can.”
I held onto his jaw like it was my new lifeline. “Do you meanyour father?”
“No,” Riyan replied, hard and fast. “He kept the truth from me for twenty-two years. I have no idea if he wants me to overthrow the Duke or if he’s just ashamed of his monstrous burden, but I don’ttrust him.”
He let out a long, slow breath that warmed my face. “Besides, he never mentioned my mother—not even once.” He blinked and then glanced up. “We’re goingto Fraleigh.”
My hands slid from his jaw and curled into trembling fists at my stomach. No one went to Fraleigh. Her only boon to the Dukedom was the blood bond enchantments every June. “But…she only serves the Houseof Hyton.”
