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Yeah, a safety barrier made of titanium.

Meaning there is something to be contained…

I slapped myself on the side of the head three times, enough to make my ears ring and my temples complain.

No. No. Fucking no.

Admitting that thing would make me the first mortal to get close enough to destroying the Heart of All.

I’d make Pearl proud.

I’d make the old me super happy.

As for the real me, he’d be heartb⁠—

No. No. No.

I pulled my knees up, hiding my face, trying to withdraw, to be anywhere but here in this confusion and fear and all the bad shit.

Distance. We needed distance, not recklessness.

This ends here. He’d done good to say goodbye.

He’d said goodbye…

“Forget everything,” I spoke aloud, fighting back tears. “He’s him, you’re you. Draw a line. Be free of it. No more. No more. No more.”

Yeah, easier said than done. Every word burned like acid on my tongue, the thought of any line separating us a horrible weight to crush my heart.

Because you…

Because you…

A knock on the door.

“H-Hello?” I called, a lump in my throat.

“It’s me,” Elio responded from the other side.

Oh, shit. Now he wanted to talk it out?

Before I could answer with a “not now” he followed up with, “There’s a werewolf here to see you.”

Chapter Twelve

Silvanus

I’d made the right choice.

The call of my people tugged at the Heart of All, reminding me of my priorities, of the danger Paris Raine dangled over their heads as well as the continued existence of Aidan.

“I am sorry, darling king,” Selene said. “I wish I could make this better for you. I’m trying to find a solution to this wretched curse.”

I didn’t respond, just ordered my surviving palace guards to gather everyone together in the library—one of the few rooms still intact.

“And the wolf?” a guard asked.

“Yes, and the wolf.”