I straighten. “This one is my pet. Mine alone to break.”
Make him kneel.
Something inside me shatters at the thought.
No. No.
Not my pet. My?—
My love.
Thoughts crack like glass.
Cas.Kel’s deep voice rings in my mind. I try to grasp it, grasp him, but it’s as if I’m the stolen rose, trapped in a jar, pounding on the glass.
Kel looks at me. No.Intome. And I see him. He sees me. Just for a heartbeat.
Fire swirls at the edges of my vision. He will kneel before the Green Flame or die by it.
I move.
We clash, two storms, blades and flames, ice and fire. I drive him back. He meets every strike. His eyes never leave mine, even as green magic drips from my hands. I want to hurt him. I want to hold him.
And stars help me?—
If I kill him, I’ll die too.
55
Keldarion
Iwill not lose him again. I am leaving this cursed place withthe man I love.
With everyone I love.
It’s not as it was before. I see him flickering in and out like stars, purple eyes, then green. I fight with the pure intention of holding him off.
“Cas, come back to me,” I growl as he slams his shadow blade against my ice one.
Nothing.
Caspian’s not only fighting me.
He’s fighting himself.
And losing.
The baron’s grip is deep now. Cas’s movements are sharper, faster, less fae and more…something I don’t understand. His blade sings with green fire, and behind him, the Baron’s silhouette looms.
The bastard’s got a sword the size of a damned tree. It looks like it could carve the mountain in two.
I wouldn’t want to see it up close.
Too bad I don’t have a choice.
Frost climbs my arms. My blades are light and quick. Good for slipping past armor. Good for making monsters bleed.
But Caspian’s faster now.
