The look he gave me was almost… respectful.
“It doesn’t matter,” I finally said. “None of this matters. All I’ve wanted since I got here is to go home. Now, you’ve manipulated me to the point that I may be stuck here for the rest of my life. In a place where I have to depend on the kindness of others in order to survive.”
“You had a responsibility to the general. He put himself in a vulnerable position to protect you. Ensuring his release from the magistrate’s cell was the least you could do.”
“The least I could do?” I spat.
My arms dropped to my side, and I took a few steps toward him, my fists clenching as I walked.
“Bokkan chose to do what he did on his own! I didn’t ask him to protect me from that asshole. I was getting ready to stab him myself if he touched me!”
“Then, you would have ended up in that cell before you were executed. Because humans who harm daemons do not get the benefit of an investigation or trial.”
“Stop blaming me for this bullshit, Guldan! I am not the cause of any of this. I didn’t ask for any of it! All I want to do is go home!” I was practically screaming when I was done. I was tired of his judgement when all I was trying to do was survive.
His expression looked almost like pity. “It is time to accept that you will not be returning to the human realm, Lady Leda.”
I scowled at him. “Oh, fuck off, Guldan.”
He drew closer until he towered over me. “If you return to the human realm, you will be a magnet to creatures and witches. They will smell the magic of Penumbra on you. With each day you are here, it binds itself to your bones and blood. You will grow stronger, faster, and develop magic of your own the longer you are here. It has already started.” He gestured to the practice dummy. “You are already more powerful physically, and it has only been a handful of days. By the time you are able to safely leave, you will glow like a beacon, brimming with the magic embedded in your skin.”
“What?” My question was little more than a whisper.
“Here, mated with Bokkan, you will be treated with respect. You will have a position and a title. If you return to the human realm, you will become prey. Supernatural creatures and witcheswill hunt you until you are caught. Then, they will slowly drain you of the magic you have accumulated until you die.”
“I’ve never had magic,” I retorted. “Surely being drained of it wouldn’t kill me.”
Guldan shook his head. “Magic binds itself to your lifeforce. It is a symbiotic relationship. The stronger your magic, the stronger your lifeforce. If your magic is removed…”
I stared at him, beyond speaking. Impotent rage had been my constant companion since I woke up in that damn slave cell. Now, it was so strong that I truly believed my head was going to explode from it.
“I think it’s time for you to leave this room,” I warned Guldan.
He took a large step back, lifting his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I only want you to be honest with yourself about your position here and your choices. I also think you care at least a little for the general, otherwise why would you agree to lie for him?”
“What does he have to do with what will happen to me when I return home?”
“It is more about what will happen to him if you leave.”
I cocked my head to the side and stared hard at him. “Just come out and say what you have to say, Guldan. I’m tired of these vague statements.”
“If you leave the general, he will descend into madness and will be killed.”
Even though I was pissed as hell at Bokkan, that statement sucked the air from my lungs. “What? Why?” I whispered.
“You have triggered his mating instincts, Lady Leda. He views you as his potential mate. He is fighting those instincts every day because he knows you do not feel the same way. General Bokkan is already attached to you. If you leave him now,he will have no control over himself. He will try to follow you to the human realm and, when he cannot, he will lose control.”
“Don’t put this one on me,” I countered, my voice shaking as I spoke. “I know nothing about your culture or how your society works. I don’t control any of this. I wouldn’t encourage his feelings for me if I realized I was.”
“I understand, and so does the general, but it does not change the outcome.”
I glared up at him. “So, now it’s my responsibility to fix whatever is broken?”
“No, Lady Leda. I do not ask you to hold responsibility for this. I only want you to have all the facts so that you will make an informed choice. I want you to think carefully about everything I have told you today.”
“You say that, but you’re still putting whatever happens to Bokkan on my shoulders,” I argued.
He shrugged. “It only matters if you care what happens to him.”
