It didn’t matter.
His own pain was of no consequence. Hers, however? Hers he could modulate. He could smother and choke it until it died a quiet death.
But how did one make someone fall out of love? What ending would result in the least amount of pain for her?
His head tilted as he studied her emotions. The new love hadn’t grown roots in her. It hadn’t had time to burrow in. It stood on spindly legs with no foundation, spun from bits of glass and fluff. Fragile.
If it was fragile, he could break it.
Better to crack a thin sheet of glass than try to shatter a fist-sized diamond.
Because if he knew anything about Anna Ainslan, it was that her love would only grow. Layers upon layers of reinforced emotion would build to create something nearly indestructible. If he cut it off now, it would fade to nothing.
Resigned to indescribable pain, David slipped back into bed beside her, wincing when she curled into his side like she belonged there. He stared at the ceiling, terrified he’d uncovered the key to his own happiness, only to learn that his bound hands were unable to grasp it.
CHAPTER 36
SEAN
The next morning, Sean traded planning sessions with Bowenn for training with Cathaire and Anna. After days and days of strategizing, he’d convinced them to allow him a break.
If only they’d let him send David in his stead, but Bowenn had only just begun to warm to David. In Sean’s absence, he’d probably be turned away.
Sean needed some breathing space, and David likely did, too.
The morning was cold and cloudless. He met Cathaire in their normal clearing, ignoring the crowd of spectators, and bore the pixie’s congratulations over Bel’s miraculous pregnancy with relative grace. Shortly after he’d donned his bracers, Anna arrived.
“Where’s your boy?” Sean asked.
She shot a glance at Cathaire, her cheeks dyeing a pretty shade of pink, before she glared at Sean. “I don’t know. Where’s yours?”
Sean chuckled. He’d forgotten that Anna and David were trying to keep things secret. Not that they weren’t completely obvious with the staring and the generalwe’re fuckingvibes.
Anna lowered her voice. “He was being weird this morning. Said he needed a morning off.”
Sean hummed. He’d sensed a strangeness in the cord in his heart that connected to David, but he thought he’d been imagining it.
“So I guess they finally let you come out to play?” Anna asked as she slid on her gear.
“They politely informed me that my time was better spent elsewhere, to which I respectfully replied that they can go fuck themselves.”
She snorted. “You sound just like David when you say things like that.”
Sean winked at her.
“Are we finished with the chitchat?” Cathaire asked, arms crossed, frown firmly in place.
Sorry, Sean and Anna both Signed to their Blademaster.
Cathaire’s blue eyes took their measure a moment, but then he nodded. “Begin.”
Anna cocked her head, grinning at Sean in challenge as she took her stance. “You ready?”
“Your goal today is to make me forget it all.”
Her smile widened, and she attacked.
Training with Anna had become something of a relaxation technique, despite that she was a vicious little vixen. He wanted to laugh at how reluctant he’d been when he first met her, all scared to hurt her. He’d been an idiot. Probably still was.
