“That is not possible.”
The firm tone in his voice told me that it was the truth, so I tried a different tactic.
“Okay, thenwhyare you taking me to the witch and not Bokkan?”
“Because he is unable.”
“Why is he unable?” I pushed.
A low grumble escaped the commander. I crossed my arms over my chest, ignoring the annoyed look on his face.
Sensing, correctly, that I was settling in for a fight, he sighed again. “He is quite literally unable to take you. If he remained with you, his instincts would not allow him to lose sight of you, much less send you back to the human realm.”
“His mating instincts?” I asked. I wanted to be sure I understood correctly.
Guldan nodded. “Yes. But it is his wish that you leave today, so I will be the one to take you.”
“He told me last night that he didn’t want me to leave. What changed in eight hours?” I asked.
“I am not a mind reader,” the daemon retorted.
I scowled at him. “Maybe not, but you know him better than anyone else. Why doyouthink he is sending me back?”
He studied me in silence until I was ready to scream. Finally, he asked, “Why do you care about his reasons?”
Because I don’t want to leave!
The thought exploded into my brain, nearly taking me to the floor with the volume of it. I didn’t want to leave Bokkan behind. For the first time in my life, I felt as though someone saw me. Someone understood me.
Someonewantedme just the way I was.
Not only did Bokkan care for me in spite of my flaws, but it also seemed that he wanted mebecauseof them.
He looked at me as though I were the center of his universe.
His obsession.
His reason for existing.
With all the men I dated, even the few who claimed they loved me and wanted to spend their lives with me, none of them had ever looked at me like Bokkan did.
Maybe it wasn’t healthy. Maybe it was reckless. Stupid even. But I couldn’t walk away from him. I wasn’t sure if I could call it love, but I felt something for him. A deep connection that I knew, down in my bones, could become part of my very soul.
Guldan seemed to sense my thoughts because he asked, “Would you care that it is hurting him to send you away?”
Silently, I nodded.
“Would you care enough to stay?”
I hesitated for a brief moment.Was I truly considering giving up my life in the human realm? For a monster I’d met a week ago?
“I would,” I said. “But I have family in the human realm. I’m not sure I could go the rest of my life without seeing them. Without letting them know I’m okay.”
It was true. My parents deserved to know I was safe and happy. They didn’t deserve to live another twenty or thirty years, wondering what had happened to me.
The daemon nodded as though my words made perfect sense to him. “And if I could assure you that you would be able to see them again… safely?”
“Then, yes, I would want to stay.”
