"Damn you."Thyaar's voice was barely a whisper."Damn you for putting me here."
"Thyaar—"
"No."He shoved Raaevik back and turned away, bracing his hands on the wall, head hanging."You don't get to ask me that.You don't get to make me choose."
When he looked over his shoulder, his eyes shimmered."I can't watch them kill you.I can't."
The air left Raaevik’s lungs, and he sagged back against the pipes."Thank you."
"Don't."Thyaar snapped.He turned around, and the warrior was back… locked down, controlled."I'm committing treason for you right now.Don't thank me for it."
He stepped in close again.
"End it," he said, his voice cold and hard."Whatever this is.It's over.You don't look at her.You don't touch her.You do your job, and you keep your hands to yourself."
"She already ended it."Raaevik's voice came out rough."She sent me away."
"Good.Keep it that way."Thyaar gripped his shoulder, hard enough to bruise."I won't report you today.But if I see you slip, if I see you look at her the way you were looking at her—I'll stop you myself.Before anyone else has to."
Letting go, he straightened his jacket.
"Barracks," he ordered."Stay away from her quarters until your next shift."
The door opened, and he walked out without looking back.
Raaevik stood in the dark, his back against the cold metal, and his hands shaking.
Worse, the feeling was still there.The possessive certainty that she was his, lodged in his chest like shrapnel.
And he didn't know how to cut it out.
