Page 298 of Salt Between the Wolves

And suddenly she knew that he hadn't, not once, not truly, not in the way she meant.

"You asked whether I would obey," she said, her voice remaining calm in a way that felt dangerously controlled.

"You asked whether I understood," she continued, taking another step.

"You asked whether I accepted what was necessary," she added as the distance between them nearly disappeared.

"But you never asked what I wanted."

Silence settled between them as Vargan regarded her steadily, and when he answered, his voice remained frustratingly composed.

"What you wanted was never separate from what you needed."

The words struck like a blade, not because they were cruel, but because he believed them, even now, even after everything.

Eira let out a short breath of disbelief that almost sounded like a laugh.

"There."

Something tightened behind her ribs, not anger but something older, something she had carried for years without giving it a name.

"There it is."

Vargan frowned slightly.

"Eira—"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "No, listen to yourself."

For the first time, emotion slipped through the cracks in her control, not much, but just enough.

"You still don't hear it."

The wind tugged at her cloak as she continued.

"You don't hear me."

His jaw tightened.

"I hear you perfectly."

"No," she replied immediately. "You hear yourself."

The words landed harder than she intended, hard enough that she saw something shift in his expression, not anger but pain, which was gone almost immediately, though still there beneath the surface.

For a heartbeat neither of them spoke, and then Vargan exhaled slowly.

"You believe I failed you."

The question sounded quieter than the others, somehow older.

Eira opened her mouth and then stopped, because that wasn't the question, not really.

And for the first time since the conversation began, she realized something uncomfortable: he wasn't defending himself anymore, but trying to understand the shape of the wound.

The realization should have softened something, but instead it made everything worse, because if he truly wanted to understand, then she would have to tell him, not as Alpha, not as ruler, not as daughter of Frostvein, but as herself.

And she wasn't certain either of them were prepared for that.