Page 199 of Sienna Rossi: Beyond Shattered Trust

I hate that she’s still trying to convince me.

I hate that she’s right.

If Vincenzo finishes this ritual, he’ll own me entirely; I will be at his mercy, and he’ll use the drakath army to tear the world apart. Her words are urgent now.

I know that, I whisper, knowing I’m not being the logical man I should be.

No, you don’t, because if you did, you’d know there’s no other way.

I can’t do that to you.

If you don’t, then he will.

Her words are brutally honest.

And I know.

I fucking know.

Yet still I can’t force myself to say the words.

Because every instinct inside me keeps returning to the same thought.

What if, without realising, I command her? What if I cross a line I can never come back from?

You won’t, Jayce, she says softly through the mind-link.

She trusts me completely, without hesitation or fear. And the weight of that trust feels heavier than any responsibility I’ve ever carried.

You think you’re taking something from me, she says softly. But you’re not.

My chest tightens.

Then what the fuck am I doing?

A small smile touches her lips despite everything.

Despite the chains.

Despite the battle.

Despite Vincenzo standing only metres away from getting exactly what he wants.

“You’re protecting me.”

The words almost break me.

Because they’re so simple and yet…

Around us, the battle erupts further as Ahren and the others crash into Vincenzo’s forces, buying us precious seconds. Explosions of magic light up the battlefield, drakaths hissing and snarling in response to the chaos, and for the first time since arriving, Vincenzo’s attention is dragged away from us when Royce blocks his path.

“Sienna...”

Her eyes lock onto mine. “We don’t have time, Jayce. I know I broke your trust once, but if you have it in you to trust me once more…”

I cup her face, lowering my head. Once again, she’s asking me to trust her, and I realise I’ll do it – no matter how much I hate it, no matter how hard it is, for her I’ll do it.

To protect her.