I just know I need to think, and I can’t do that next to him while pretending I don’t hear Sylvie’s warning circle in my mind, gnawing at the edges of every thought.
If you have any sense, you’ll leave. Return home and forget you ever set foot in Cups.
And you’ll run far away fromhim.
I know he’s keeping something from me. I know it with the same certainty that I know the tide will rise andfall. That storms will come whether I’m ready or not. There’s something beneath the surface, something he’s not saying.
And I’m going to find out what it is.
I won’t let him control what I know, what I don’t. I need answers. I deserve them.
If we have any chance of salvaging what’s been building between us, any hope of a real relationship, he’ll be honest. He’ll tell me everything. He’ll prove he’s the man he swore he wants to be.
And if he doesn’t? If he lies? Then at least I’ll know for sure we’re done.
I square my shoulders and exhale, shaking off the lingering chill as I make my way through the castle’s winding halls. I push open the heavy wooden door to our room as thunder rumbles through the castle. Wind rattles the windows, rain lashes the glass in sideways sheets, and a flash of lightning paints the world white before it vanishes back into shadow.
I sag back against the door—and immediately regret it.
It swings open behind me, and I yelp as I tumble forward with a graceless thud and crash onto my hands and knees.
Boots appear in my periphery. Followed by a familiar voice, low and amused. “If you wanted to be on your knees, all you had to do was ask.”
Alder stands in the doorway, rain-speckled and flushed from the storm. He’s wearing a deep maroon velvet jacket he didn’t have on the boat, and the effect is…infuriatingly distracting.
“Read the room, Alder.” I push myself upright,wincing as my knees protest. “And if you laugh, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” His lips twitch as he steps into the room and holds out a hand. “We need to go.”
I let him help me to my feet, my brow furrowing. “We just got back.”
He doesn’t hear me—or he doesn’t care. His gaze flicks over my damp dress, the salt still clinging to my skin. “What you’re wearing will work. Not like you have any other options.”
My spine straightens. “Excuse me?”
Before I can object, his hand finds the small of my back, guiding—no,pushing—me out the room and into the hall.
“Look, Alder, we need to talk.”
His exhale is long. “Fine, but not now. Right now, I need you to come with me.”
I cross my arms and plant my feet. “Nice to see we’re back to this again. Guess your good moods don’t last long. Or is this because of what Sylvie said?”
His expression hardens. “I have more important things to do than try and figure out whatever game you’re playing.”
My mouth drops open. “Game? Are you serious?” I laugh, but there’s no humor in it.
Alder curses under his breath, his patience threadbare. “I’m trying to show you something that will change your life forever, but you would rather throw a fit and act like a child.”
Lightning streaks the sky, casting jagged shadows through the corridor as thunder crashes in the distance.
I step to him, toe-to-toe, and tilt my chin up to meet his narrowed gaze. “I’m not acting like a child. I’m justdone with your bullshit. You can’t yank me around like I’m wearing one of those little leash backpacks.”
“You don’t need a leash, sweetheart. You’ve always followed me willingly.”
My retort rises fast—something vicious and biting, something that would feel good in the moment. But I choke it down. This isn’t about scoring points. This isn’t about name-calling or shouting until one of us folds. The fight that’s coming matters more than that.
“Unless this thing you’re dragging me to can get me home, I don’t care. I don’t want to see it. I don’t need my life to be forever changed. That’s already happened. I need it to go back.”
