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“I saw you, and I felt another odd Pull. It was painless, like the one that had drawn me to the reliquary, but more determined. Even as it rose, I became enamored of you. And that scared me. I couldn't be with someone I wanted as badly as I wanted you. It was too dangerous. So, I left.”

I gaped at him. Men had told me I was beautiful, but not like Tristan just had. No one had ever used the word enamored about me. But there was more to his story, and I couldn't get swept up in our mutual fascination for each other. Focus, Destiny!

“Why did you come back?”

“I told myself it was for the reliquary, that I had to know for certain it was the same one. It had been almost a thousand years since I'd last seen it.”

“But?”

Tristan grinned. “But even after I was certain the reliquary was the same, I couldn't stop thinking about you. It got worse and worse. The day we met, I followed you home.”

“You what?”

“I know. It's crazy. But I didn't understand why until after I brought you home the other night. With no other distractions, I could feel Heartbreak reaching for you, and I knew I had to end it before we went any further.”

“It was you,” I whispered.

“What was?”

“The grief I felt. Heartbreak was reaching for me. That's why I didn't need to touch you.”

“Destiny, what are you talking about?”

“I'm an empath. When I touch someone, I can feel their emotions. But the day before we met, a wave of grief hit me while I was in the lab alone. I put a mental barrier up to protect myself, and when I looked up, there you were.”

“An empath,” he whispered and lowered his gaze to the table. “I've heard of people like you, but I've never met one. Could Heartbreak be reaching for you because you can feel it without being affected?”

“You're asking me?”

Tristan looked up and blinked. “Huh? No, I'm just thinking aloud.” He frowned. “But it does affect you. You felt it.”

“I felt your pain. Or maybe I felt Heartbreak. It's not the same as experiencing personal heartbreak. After I put up my shield, I was fine.”

“Why is it drawing me to you? It urged me to go to you the other night. It was the same gentle lure.” His hand stretched toward me, stopped halfway, and withdrew into a fist.

“If its gentle, why are you avoiding me?”

“It's gentle until I reach you. Then it grows stronger and stronger. Resisting it isn't painful, but it's exhausting.”

“Why? What do you mean?”

“I want to touch you!” Tristan shouted as he surged back in his chair. Seeing my shock, he took a breath and softened his tone. “I desire you, Destiny, and the Curse is magnifying what I'm feeling. I don't know why Heartbreak wants me with you, I didn't even know it could affect my emotions like this, but I can't imagine it's good.”

“I think it's obvious what it wants.”

“What?”

“To feel someone's emotions, I have to take a portion. I feel what they're feeling. It's a type of invasion, so I don't do it unless I know the person. But it alleviates their pain. I don't take all of it, that would hurt too much, but I don't mind taking little sips if it helps someone I care about. I could take some of Heartbreak's pain. If I—”

His eyes went wide and he cut me off. “No, Destiny. You should never take pain from Heartbreak.”

“I've already done it with no repercussions.”

“Once, and you said you immediately protected yourself.” Tristan drew back further, pushing his chair away from the table. “Do you have you shield up now?”

“Yes. Look, don't worry about it. I've been doing this since I was little.” I reached for him, and he jumped up, knocking his chair over.

“You don't understand. You can't do that with me. Heartbreak isn't one person's trauma. It's an entity born of the pain of thousands upon thousands of people. It's unpredictable. If you touched it, I don't know what it would do.”