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“But… I don’t understand.”
“I must depart for Ikoth immediately. If I remain here any longer, I fear there’ll be more trouble than I’m already dealing with. You can’t afford to be seen with me anymore.”
I take a step forward when she calls out again.
“Hanna, please don’t make this any harder than this needs to be.”
I look to the end of the hallway, knowing that once I turn the corner, I’ll never have the privilege of laying my eyes upon such a beautiful creature again.
Only then will the pain of her absence begin its abysmal wrath on my soul, but it is one I will accept. Knowing she’ll be happy with her father is more than enough consolation.
If I linger in this wretched city any longer, I am only prolonging the inevitable.
I best get this heartbreak over with, though it may never end.
Closing my eyes, I hold back the last assault of tears.
“Goodbye, Hanna. You were the greatest person I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. You’ll remain in my thoughts.”
I force myself to walk, each step resisted with the heavy weight of heartbreak. I know I’m ripping myself away from true happiness, but what choice do I have?
I saw the mission through. It shouldn’t be this hard to walk away. But I have to, even if I never intended on catching feelings for the human stowaway I found in my cart.
“Kazrith!” she yells more passionately than ever before.
I don’t know how, but the force of her tone stops me dead in my tracks, unable to take another step.
“You’re not going anywhere, at least not until you’ve heard what I have to say!”
I muster every ounce of strength within me to turn around, doing so slowly as I notice her approaching.
In her eyes, I do not expect to find a glimmer of hope but that is exactly what I see. What else could she possibly be hoping for right now?
My heart feels as though it’s about to burst from my chest.
29
HANNA
Itake his hands, his fingers wrapping around mine.
“I can tell it’s breaking your heart to leave, Kazrith. It’s breaking mine too. I can’t bear to watch you go, not after all we have been through together.”
“But the mission is over, Hanna. It is time for me to go. What more is there to do?”
His shield is clearly some type of mental front to protect himself. But it won’t stop me from getting through to him.
“This,” I say, pulling his lips to mine.
I kiss him, feeling his hands pull my waist closer. Our lips part but our foreheads stay touching.
“This isn’t quite the place I had in mind to tell you how I really feel,” I whisper. “But I guess my life likes throwing surprises at me, like it did when you came my way.”
“Hanna,” his voice quietly says, smooth like silk. “I feel the same way about you, but isn’t returning home with your father what you wanted?”
“I thought it was, but I really just needed to see him safe, to know we could both go on without Zathex hunting us down.”
“Something changed your mind when you were with me, didn’t it?”
