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Eagan leads me out. Whatever hope I had of speaking to Kylian has gone. My skin prickles with his absence as I move, the bond protesting our separation, even if this is the distance I claimed to want. I need to think clearly without his influence muddling everything.
Eagan falls into step beside me without a word. We walk in silence for several long moments.
“Will Arlo be on the next ship out as I asked?” I think of the grim condition he’s in because of me, and I worry about him making it home without medical treatment. “Could his wounds be treated before his departure?”
Eagan doesn’t answer straight away, and his silence is the worst possible answer.
“Wait, he’s still alive, right? Nothing happened to him after I left?”
Eagan’s face is impossible to read, but when he finally speaks, I can tell he’s choosing his words carefully. “He was still alive when I left him.”
I let out a breath as we turn a corner into a narrow corridor where the torch light flickers dramatically against the walls.
“Will Kylian hurt him?” My voice is small and timid.
Eagan sighs. “So long as he doesn’t provoke the king, he will be unharmed.”
My stomach twists at the thought of Arlo’s survival depending on his ability to stay quiet and submissive, two things he’s never been particularly good at, not when it comes to me.
“That’s not exactly reassuring when we both know Arlo has more courage than sense.”
“Then perhaps,” Eagan suggests with the faintest hint of dry humor, “you should convince him to return willingly and quietly to Purgatory where that courage might serve him better.”
We walk a few more steps while I gather the nerve to ask what I really need to know. “Where is he now?”
“In the lower wing, under guard but comfortable enough.”
The lower wing. Close enough that I could find him if I needed to, far enough that casual encounters would be unlikely. “Can you keep him there?” The words tumble out in a rush. “At least until I can convince him to go back to Purgatory where he belongs, where his family needs him.”
“He’s already refused to leave,” Eagan says, not sounding too impressed.
Of course he did. Stubborn, loyal, foolish Arlo who has never known when to walk away from a losing fight or when to choose his own life over mine.
“He has family,” I say, though I’m speaking more to myself than to Eagan. “His mother needs him, and his sister, Angie . . . She’s sick, she needs him too.”
“All that to live for, and still he insists on remaining here unless you accompany him back to Purgatory.”
“Arlo and I are different,” I say slowly. “He’s a dreamer, but I’ve never been able to see past surviving the next day. He doesn’t just love someone and let them go quietly when he’s built an entire life and future with them inside his heart. But I can’t love him the way he wants me to, not now that I have the bond.”
Eagan nods. “And he’s willing to risk Kylian’s wrath and his family’s survival, all because he can’t let go?”
“I’ll convince him to go willingly,” I say with more confidence than I feel, because what other choice do I have? “Please, just keep him away from Kylian until I can talk sense into him.”
Eagan hesitates. “I will see what I can arrange.”
“Thank you,” I breathe.
He nods once, then continues down the corridor with me trailing slightly behind. “What should I do?” The words come out vulnerable in a way I hate. “About Kylian, about this situation, about everything?”
Eagan’s gaze is fixed ahead as if the answer might be written on the stone walls. “Just give him some space to calm down and think rationally,” he says finally.
“That’s not helpful,” I point out, frustration creeping into my voice.
“It is the only advice I have that might keep your boyfriend alive,” he replies.
“He isn’t my boyfriend,” I grumble.
“But you do love him,” Eagan states.
