“Who then?”
He walksover to me, picksme up, and carriesme back into the bedroom.My legs wrap tight around his waist.My hands cup his face as I stare into his eyes.
Pained.
Guarded.
Broken.
Ididthis to him.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper.“I never meant to actually go through with it.”
Hedoesn’tsay anything, justlaysme down on the queen-sized bed, on top of the covers.As hestepsback to strip off hisclothes, Iwatchhim inbewilderment.Idon’tknow where westand, butthat simple apologycouldn’t’vebeeneverything he neededto hear, all I needed to say to make it right between us.
My eyes roam over his heavily bruised face.
My heart squeezing, I understand.
“You suffered a concussion,”I say.
My kinglaughshollowly as hepulls downhis trousers.“Probably.”
I scoot off the bed to get the healing wand out of the bathroom, but he stepsin front of me,stretching onearmacross the door.“Get back in bed.”
My mouth opensand closesas my brows furrow.“But I tried to kill you.”
“And it’s made me fucking tired.Turns out, immune or not, my body doesn’t like being poisoned.”
“So why are you here?”
He liftsme in his arms.“Because you’re here,”he saysas if that explainseverything.
But itdoesn’t.
Whyisn’the upset?
Whyisn’the full of the nerves hounding every piece of my body?
“But Itried to kill you,” Isayagain.
He lowersme down on the bed.“And as Jace pointed out, I tried to kill you first.”
My breathcatches.Trembling, I look him in the eye.“Jace also said youhad them calloff my execution.”
“I did.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”That wouldhave changed everything, stopped everything…
Ishakemy head.Ican’tblame him for my actions.I was too scared to talk to him about it too,thinking I’d need all the advantages I could get in order to succeed.
“Because I didn’t know you knew it was ever in play.Now go to bed.”Irritation lineshis voice as he shovesme under the covers and crawlsin beside me.
Sitting up, I push theblanketoffus.“Why aren’t you angry?”
“I’m trying not to be,” he repliesthrough clenched teeth.
“But why?You have every right to be.I.Just.Tried.To.Kill.You.”I shove his shoulder, wanting him to be angry with me, wanting something other than this cold, distant dismissiveness that Idon’tknow how to cross.Don’tknow how to fix.
