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“Why did you do it?” I breathe. “Tell me you at least had a good reason.” As if there would ever be a good reason for… that.
“He was stealing from us,” Lux says plainly. “Castor found something hidden beneath his mattress that absolutely did not belong to him.”
“What was it? Gold?”
Castor speaks before he can reply. “You’d rather not know. Trust me, princess.”
I glare at his tight smile. I don’t trust him. Not one tiny bit. But something is telling me to drop the subject, so I do.
What he stole doesn’t matter now anyway. He’s dead. Very, very dead. Another shudder rolls over me.
“What do you intend to do with me then?” I ask after a few quiet moments. “You’ve killed my guard and sent my servant home, so now I’m trapped here, just like you wanted.”
“I don’t want you to feel trapped.” Lux tucks a damp curl behind my ear. “I want you to be happy with me.”
“Then why lie to me?”
“I didn’t lie. You just didn’t ask the right questions.”
“Don’t put this on me.” I frown at him, but seeing his face reminds me of what I saw half an hour ago and I feel queasy again.
“Last night you said you wanted to marry me. A faerie bond is really no different.” He takes my hand despite my averted gaze.
“That’s not how Castor described it. He said it’d make me fall in love with you.”
He huffs out a laugh. “No, I said it would make you want to fuck.”
“Is there a difference?” I hiss. “I would never be intimate with someone that I don’t love.”
“But you do love me, don’t you?” Lux tilts my chin up. My heart gets caught in my throat. “Because I love you, Eden.”
“Stop saying that,” I shake my head. “You can’t just say that unless you mean it.”
“I do. I promise I do.” He cups my cheek as my lashes lower. “I love you, Eden, and last night when I kissed you in my bedchamber, I meant every word I said.”
“You lied to me.”
“Shh, don’t worry about that.” He kisses me softly. “I meant what I said last night and at the ball. I love you, Eden.” A strange feeling fizzles in my chest, like a cup about to overflow. “I love you, little butterfly.” All it would take is one more drop. One more drop and it’ll—
“Stop it, Lux.” Castor’s tone makes me flinch.
The strange feeling vanishes, leaving me feeling oddly cold.
“Don’t you think she’s been through enough today?” Castor grumbles.
Lux’s eyes turn icy. “I cannot force her to accept the bond.”
“No, but you can encourage it, and I think Eden has the right to wait until she’s ready, or at least until the pain becomes too much for her.”
“What are you talking about? What do you mean by the pain becoming too much for me?” I panic.
Whatever that strange feeling was just now, it must’ve had something to do with the bond. I don’t have feelings for Lux. I can’t have. I don’t even know who he is anymore.
Lux drags a hand through his hair. “Once a bond has been created, it must be accepted by both parties or whoever has not accepted it will start feeling withdrawal pains.”
“Withdrawal pains?” I rasp.
“Yes. It’s your body rejecting the bond. The pain will feel unbearable until eventually it subsides as the bond leaves your system.” He frowns as he looks at me. “You will not be able to cope with this pain, my love, so please do not even think about trying.”
