“Aren’t I?” He lifted his brow and shook his head. “I was using you for my own gain. And do you know what happened because of it? Callista died.”
“Yuto, that’s not your fault,” I said.
“Isn’t it? Panos took her to get leverage over me. So that he could get to you. If I’d let you go when you’d asked, none of this would have happened.”
“Oh, Yuto.” I closed my eyes and sighed. “You’re a better male than you want to admit. You didn’t know this would happen. And you’ve done everything in your power to keep me safe, when you could have easily given me up to be killed.”
“No, you don’t understand.” He turned away, and my hand dropped heavily to my side. “I need you to come with me where the scent of books is not so cloyingly strong.”
I blinked. “Why?”
“I need to scent you. I’ll explain everything when we get outside.”
* * *
After following Yuto out of the library and onto the crumbling battlements that swept across the eastern wing of the castle, I’d grown increasingly alarmed by Yuto’s proclamation that he wanted to scent me. It sounded a lot like what Panos had done, and well...I didn’t want to do anything that remotely reminded me of Panos.
Yuto took ahold of my shoulders and angled me so that I faced the wind. The warm breeze brushed my hair around my shoulders, and my loose tunic rippled around my waist. Those fiery eyes of his focused on my own. He stared right into the very soul of me, piercing me to my darkest depths. A familiar coil of need tightened in my core, and I leaned into him, despite myself.
I’d sworn him off in the forest, but the past few days had brought me a startling clarity. I was falling for the Lord of Dragons. He was strong and fierce, caring and brave. Sure, he was a little grumpy at times, but it only made his smiles that much more remarkable when they came.
I wanted to be the source of those smiles. I wanted to chase away all the pain he’d bottled up in his heart.
“Yuto,” I whispered.
“Don’t.” He released his grip on my arms and stepped back. Pain burned in his eyes. “As much as I wish I could claim you for mine, I can’t. I can scent your soul, Aradia. Just like Panos did. And it’s pure.”
23
Yuto
“What are you talking about?” Tears swam in her eyes. I knew what she’d been about to say, and I’d stopped her before she could voice it out loud. She needed to know the truth. As intense and all-consuming as the bond between us had become, it meant nothing. She wasn’t safe here, and she never would be. Not as long as Panos wanted her blood.
“Panos said he could smell the lie on you,” I said.
“So?” She shook her head and backed up, disbelief in her eyes. “How does that have anything to do with you and me?”
“Because he was right.” I shook my head, amazed at my idiocy. It had taken me far too long to understand. It killed me that Panos had figured it out first. “I can smell your lies, too. You aregood, Aradia. Your soul is pure. There isn’t a single dark spot on you.”
“And that’s a bad thing to you? You want me to be dark and cruel, like Panos?” She laughed, pain flickering in her eyes. “I didn’t think you were that kind of man. I thought you liked me as I was.”
“Oh, my love.” I shifted closer to her and curled a finger beneath her chin. Every part of my chest ached from what I had to tell her next. I didn’t want to say it, but I must. “I want you to be exactly how you are. And that means you need to return to your homeland.”
She blinked up at me, tears welling in her eyes. “I don’t understand, Yuto.”
The way she spoke my name shook through me like the thunder of a thousand dragon wings. “I was wrong about why you couldn’t return to your mortal realm through the portal. It had nothing to do with your crimes or that prince of yours. It had to do with me. All this time, I thought a pure soul could pull me away from this place. But my stain spread to you when we touched. The magic wasn’t keeping you here. I was.”
She took a step back, out of my reach. “What do you mean you were keeping me here?”
“Not intentionally,” I said roughly. “When you held my hand, it stopped you from going through. I’m certain of it. If you tried again now, there would be nothing stopping you. You can get out of this place, Aradia.”
“But I don’t want to leave,” she whispered.
“You must,” I said, voice rising with insistence. “And you know it. Panos is intent on getting his hands on you. He will stop at nothing to drink you dry. I would never forgive myself if he finally got to you and killed you because I was too selfish to let you leave.”
“Eretia is no better, Yuto,” she said. “Prince Cyril will capture me. It’s why I didn’t want to return there in the first place. Remember how I refused to go back through? Nothing has changed.”
And yet,so muchhad changed.
