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Stupid, stupid, stupid.
If Frexin's team had done their job and made the signal fire, I'd never have learned the truth …
Forsaken hells!
THIS was why I worked alone! Secrets, lies, feelings — other people were just an endless stream of pain and distractions from what really mattered.
Fire burned through my veins as I sat up.
"You!" My voice was raspy. "I cannot believe you both let me think he was DEAD all this time!"
Jaiel winced, but Eli's face remained void of emotion.
"I — it's not like I —" Jaiel couldn't find the words.
"I don't have time for this," Eli interrupted, voice sharp and so very different from the sunny Eli I remembered. "I demanded Jaiel not tell you I had survived, Kaiya. After everything that happened, it seemed like a clean cut between us would be best. But as you found out the truth, anyway, I apologize."
That cold, irritated expression never even left his fucking face.
"Now," he continued. "With that out of the way, is there anything else we should discuss? I have important work I need to return to."
I stared at him, speechless, as my heart twisted into knots inside my chest.
For months I'd half-expected him to show up and ask what I was doing working for Frexin in that endearingly cocky way of his. But of course he hadn't.
He was dead.
I'd thought I'd never hear that voice … see those eyes …
Yet … there he stood, callously ripping open a wound and dousing it with salt.
Pain radiated inside my chest, and my tongue felt like it had swollen to twice its size.
I shook my head and forced my eyes closed, shoving all that pain into a box in my mind.
I had a mission to do, and if I didn't bury those feelings right now, it might break me … again.
The pain tried to wrench free, but I pushed it back.
This was GOOD news.
My heart twisted in pain.
No. I pushed the emotions down again. He didn't owe me anything. We'd known each other for a month, at most. And for most of that time, he'd lied and pretended to be someone else. His name wasn't even really Eli …
He'd done what he needed for his mission — just as I would do for mine.
The memory of his almost-confession whispered in my mind, but I pushed it away. You couldn't develop feelings, or a genuine relationship, in that short of a time.
"She's obviously upset," Eli said, voice hard. "But I can't wait around while she collects herself. I need to visit the caves, then prepare for the council meeting."
My eyes flew open to meet his sharp gaze.
Those cold green eyes didn't even flinch.
One heartbeat. Two —
Spinning on his heel, Eli strode out of the room, the door clicking shut softly behind him.
