Page 30 of Twist of Fate

Connal’s gaze sharpened. “There is no⁠—”

“Within reason,” Luke repeated, still calm, still steady. “Or this doesn’t work.”

Connal bit back his objection. “Within reason,” he allowed, the concession sitting uneasily between them.

Luke nodded once, as if that confirmed something.

“You want me safe?” Luke said.

Connal’s focus locked on to him. “Yes.”

“Then take me back to finish what I started.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Luke waited for Connal to see reason.

Instead, Connal stared at him, his gaze sharp and deliberate.

He needed Connal’s agreement. Luke held his ground, even as every instinct told him to push, to force the issue before anyone else could magically appear inside the room and complicate the whole situation further.

Fortunately, Connal wasn’t looking for anyone else to make his decision. He hadn’t looked away from Luke, like the rest of the world had narrowed down to a single point that wasn’t behaving the way it was supposed to.

Luke stayed silent. Whatever this was, it wasn’t something he could rush without risking the entire thing snapping back in his face.

So he waited.

Connal went rigid. Not the controlled version Luke had already learned to recognize, but something tighter than that, like he was holding his emotions in place by force of will alone.

The air around them tightened. Why did he suddenly want to take a step closer? His fingers twitched with the urge to touch Connal, to put his hand over Connal’s heart. Wow, he’d really been spending too much time in the sparkly chamber, because this was all starting to feel alarmingly real.

Connal’s jaw tightened once before easing, the change small but deliberate. When he spoke, his voice was steady—too steady. “You intend to resolve your affairs before accepting our destiny.”

“Yes.” Luke huffed out a quiet breath. “Something like that.”

Luke didn’t push it further because Connal had given him an opening.

He just had to not screw it up.

“Then we are in agreement. I must,” Connal paused and swallowed hard, “let the Consort know we must cancel the feast.”

Luke looked past Connal, taking in the room properly for the first time since everything had gone sideways. Everyone had left on Connal’s order, but no one had gone far. Their excitement pressed against the closed door. Simply walking out wasn’t an option.

Of course it wasn’t.

Luke exhaled quietly. Fine. New approach.

The door opened before Connal reached it, revealing Cosmo and the others crowded in the corridor. Before Connal could speak, Luke intervened.

“I’m not refusing,” he said, looking past Connal toward Consort Cosmo.

That got everyone’s attention again, but Luke didn’t pause this time.

“Whatever this is,” Luke gestured between himself and Connal, careful not to look at him, “I understand that it matters here.”

That part was obvious. He didn’t need a manual to figure that out.

“But I can’t stay,” Luke continued, just as evenly. “Not yet. I’ve got something unfinished on my side, and until that’s dealt with, I’m not in a position to…commit to anything.”