I stumble backward, away from him. “Get away from me. Don’t come any closer.”
“I don’t think you mean that, Zen.” His eyes narrow in fury, but he obeys my wishes and stops several feet from me.
“I mean it,” I fling back. Though the words cause me physical pain, I say, “You want Ravenna, not me. And I don’t want you either, so leave me alone.” My pride is wounded. I want him so much that I wish I’d thrown myself from Calyx’s back rather than face the truth.
“You don’t want me? So why did you come here?” He glances meaningfully past me, and when I turn to look, I see the opening to the cave we once sheltered inside through a storm. The cool, dark interior beckons to me.
“What’s this place? I don’t know it.”
“Don’t lie to me, Zen,” he snarls.
Of course I remember what happened here. I can still remember his kisses and remember the way his body felt moving against mine.
“I wish I could forget,” I sob. “I wish it had never happened.”
“I know,” he says, hurt and sympathy creasing his brow. “I hurt you so much. I’m so sorry. But so much has happened since that day. So much has changed.”
“Nothing has changed.” I swipe a hand over my sweating brow. My head is aching in the summer glare. “Nothing is different except that you want Ravenna, not me. You won the games for her. Go and claim your prize.”
“Zen,aash’lin, please, the sunlight is hurting you. All this sky is too much. Let’s go inside the cave and shelter there.”
Aash’lin. Dear heart. I’ve never heard an endearment from Stesha’s lips before, and I don’t know why he would start now. “What could have possibly changed? I’m the same as always, and you already made it clear that I’m not the one you want. Go and kill Kane so that you may finally bed your precious Omega.”
Stesha looks at me for a long time and then takes a deep breath. “I was wrong about everything.Youare my mate.”
I think I’m going to throw up. My throat locks tight, but I can’t hold back my cry of despair. “Why are you tormenting melike this? What have I ever done to you to treat me with so much cruelty?”
“It’s true.”
“I don’t believe you. I don’t trust a word out of your mouth. Why are you so sure all of a sudden?”
His blue eyes are as bright and dazzling as the sky. “Because I know my Omega’s scent.”
My mouth drops open. I stare at him in shocked silence, and then I pull back my hand and slap him across the face. He doesn’t stop me, and his head turns to one side, a pink handprint blooming on his clean-shaven jaw.
“How dare you say that to me?” I cry out, shaking with anger that he is mocking me like this.
He turns back to me. “I dare because it’s true,aash’lin.”
I raise my other hand to slap him, and he gently but firmly grasps my wrist and pulls it down. “Don’t, please.”
“You seek to make a fool of me? I’m a Beta, and I’ve always been a Beta. If you’re looking for your precious Omega you know where to find her.”
Stesha holds me tight by the shoulders. “Haven’t you noticed what’s been happening to you, Zen? Your cheeks are always flushed. You’re sensitive to light. You’re seeking out small, dark places to crawl into, aren’t you? Under your bed. In cupboards. Standing here with me now in the open air is torment for you. I don’t know how you’ve been able to attend the Dragon Games. You must be exhausted and terrified. Just come inside the cave and you will see how different you feel.”
“I am hot because it’s summer. I’m flushed because I am so embarrassed for you, simpering over another man’s mate.”
“I have not simpered. Your jealousy has made you see things that are not there.”
“How dare you call me jealous!” I shriek at him.
That would once have earned me a swift telling off, but instead, Stesha’s lips turn up in wry amusement. “I have to admit it’s pleasing, seeing you jealous after all this time. I thought I was the only one who suffered so.”
“When have you been jealous?”
Stesha watches me, still with that teasing smile on his lips. Suddenly he wraps both arms around my waist and picks me up. He cradles me against his broad chest with his hand in my hair.
“Put me down!”
