She’s still hiding behind that curtain of hair, still building that wall brick by brick, but I won’t let her. I can’t let her do this all by herself.
“It isn’t safe,” she says.
I snort. “No one would dare to go against my parents, trust me. They can protect you.”
One eye connects with mine, glimmering in the light, an unholy darkness resting in the void that still takes my breath away. “It’s not safe forthem… oryou.”
My pupils dilate.
What?
Does she think she’s the threat?
Or is someone now … hunting her?
“I refuse to put anyone else in danger,” she says, taking another step.
But I refuse to let go, squeezing her arm to keep her from moving despite the fact that my heart pounds from the mere thought of the consequences. She could flay me alive, burn me, or rip out my tongue for daring to go against her.
But I will.
I will because she needs someone who will stand by her side, even if she doesn’t want them to.
Whatever it takes. However deep the pit goes, I would jump if she told me to.
I’d do anything for her.
Move mountains for her and jump off the highest cliff, just to catch a single kiss.
I’d walk across the moon to get to her, and name the stars after her along with it.
She ismysun.
The only thing my world revolves around.
But the thought that she could ever want me the same way absolutely paralyzes me.
“I don’t need you to protect me,” I say, grinding my teeth so hard I nearly chip a tooth. “When I find out who did this to you, they will need protecting from me because I’ll fucking kill them.”
Her hand balls into a fist. “I …”
“Let me protect you,” I say. “Let me help you kill.”
A grisly darkness falls over me, blanketing my body and clouding my judgment. “You don’t even have to tell me why they need todie. Anyone. Anytime. Just give me a name, and I will kill them for you. No questions asked.”
An audible gasp escapes her lips.
“Just let me. Please,” I beg.
She sucks on her bottom lip, and it’s the most beautiful thing. Everything about her is just breathtaking. Like an enigma I wish I could unravel, but at the same time keep in an infinite buoyancy in the void—an uncontrollable black hole, untouched by time. Untouched byus.
The world does not deserve her existence.
“Xavier,” she says, her voice so soft it catches me off guard. “Let go of me.”
My fingers immediately unravel from her arm.
“Good boy.”
