“Where are we going?” Dez says.
Rafe’s walking briskly, like he’s trying to lose her as they weave back through the dark, empty halls outside the Vault.
“Somewhere I can answer your questions,” he says.
Dez jogs to catch up with him. “Really?”
He stops walking, turns to face her. “But first, you’re going to answer one of mine.”
She knows what he’s going to ask before the words leave his lips.
“Do you love him?”
“I already told you, I barely know him. I didn’t go down there for love. I went for the truth.”
“Are you lying? Because I can’t—we can’t do this if you’re not ready to give up your mortal world.”
Dez holds her hands out at her side. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Are you here because youwantthis?” Rafe asks. “Or because you think you’re trapped?”
It’s too much for Dez to consider, especially under Rafe’s searing azure gaze. She made her decision once, and she wanted to stick by it. But that was before she’d seen Asher’s memory of their meeting in his halo.
That was before she’d seen herself through his eyes.
“I don’t know if I love him,” she says honestly, “but if none of this had happened, if I’d stayed where I was in my life, I think I would have tried.”
“Falling in love with Asher?”
She closes her eyes. She nods.
“Did you sleep with him?” Rafe asks.
“What? No. We met one time, and that’s none of your business anyway.”
“Shit,” he says, and shakes his head.
“You wish Ihadslept with him?”
“Of course, because now a part of you will always wonder. Whereas, if you’d gotten it out of the way, I could very simply blow him out of the water.”
“You and I haven’t even—”
Rafe steps forward and pins her against the wall of Goliath. His eyes trace her features, hungrily, and she breathes in his musky, petrichor scent. He’s got her attention now.
“I acknowledge that things between us must be as frustrating for you as they are for me,” Rafe says. “But there is an end in sight where I could give you more than you’ve ever dreamed is possible.”
His intensity sends a pulse of pleasure through her. “Rafe—”
“Do you want to see something no other first-year gets to see?” he asks. “Do you want me to show you what we’re here for, what this is all about?”
“Obviously.”
He tugs her hand. “Come on.”
They leave Goliath, walking outside to stand in the snow at the edge of the labyrinth. Dez shivers. This is the last place she wants to be.
From inside the tall hedges, something rustles.
