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The Conclave members looked at each other.

“No,” Edmund said.

“Edmund.” Tristan frowned at him.

“No.” Edmund held up a hand. “I don't think you should go, Tristan. They're after you, and it would be foolish to take you to them. But I do think we should kill them. We send a team to find them, and when they have their location locked, we send Seraphel with our best soldiers. Sodom can fuck them up the asses!”

Seraphel grimaced.

“I don't know if we should resort to murder,” Tanvi said.

“Why not?” Alistair asked. “This isn't only about protecting ourselves. It's about protecting the entire world. I'd say that's worth two lives, especially when one of those men should have died centuries ago.”

“Centuries,” I muttered. “Fabian has been doing this for centuries, and you've only now noticed. I think he knows how to evade you. The moment you move on either of them, Fabian will vanish, taking the silver piece with him, and wait for another opportunity. And the next time, he won't give you a warning.”

Seraphel shrugged. “It might take him another century. In which case, you'd be dead.”

“Seraphel!” Tanvi shouted.

Tristan glared at him.

Bart sighed. “I hate to say this. I really hate to say this, but he's right. I don't think we should let the possibility of Fabian running stop us from defending ourselves.”

“This feels risky,” I said.

“Every choice is risky.” Tristan took my hand.

“Then perform the Severing.” Seraphel motioned at Tristan. “You two will be safe, and we can focus on catching Fabian and Osric.”

Tristan went rigid. “No.”

“Tristan, I think we need to talk about this.” I took his hand.

“I told you before.” His voice went hard. “I will not discuss it. The Severing is permanent. You would carry half of Heartbreak until the world ends. I would rather let Fabian burn me to ashes.”

“And what if he does? I'm supposed to be fine with that? I know you're a bunch of powerful supernatural beings, and they're just two magical guys, but they're not fools. They've surely prepared for all of you attacking them. I told you before that they'll trap you if you go after them. Fabian has been planning this for a very long time. He's not going to leave anything to chance. And if he takes you, I'll be next.”

“I will kill him before he touches you,” Tristan snarled, his hand slamming down onto the table.

My eyes went wide. My sweet, rational man had just turned savage. I wished I could have appreciated it, but it only pissed me off. “How are you going to do that if you're in chains?!” I leaned toward him, refusing to yield an inch. “You say you want to protect me, but going John Wick on them isn't going to work.” I held up a hand. “I'm not against killing them. I understand they're a threat to all of you, and by extension, the entire world. But I think if an attack is made, it needs to be done carefully, without you involved and with a backup plan. Frankly, if it comes down to a choice of waiting in terror for Fabian to perform a forced extraction, or us taking control of the ritual and choosing the Severing on our own terms, then the Severing is the better option.”

“You don't know what you're saying,” he choked out, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “You had a few minutes with the pain, and you think you're prepared. Even a drop of water can become torture when applied endlessly. And it will be endless, Destiny. I cannot put that inside you. Besides, it only works if we're in love, and you don't love me.”

“Yes, I fucking do!”

“Well, I love you too much to put this fucking Curse in you!”

“Well, I love you too much to watch you suffer until I die, and die knowing you'll suffer more because I'm dead!”

The harshly beautiful words hung between us in the cold basement air, with one shining bright among the others—love.

We both knew it was too soon. But I suppose putting a time schedule on love was ridiculous. You feel what you feel when you felt it. And now our feelings churned between us, out in the open for everyone to witness. It wasn't the most romantic declaration of all time. But it was ours.

Tristan stared at me, his breath coming in ragged, uneven hitches. “Destiny.”

“If we perform the Severing, we share it and negate the risks. Fabian’s plan falls apart without any violence. We protect each other.” I was a little surprised to find how certain I was about this. “And we get to be together forever. I think that's worth half your pain.”

Tristan reached out, his hand trembling as his fingers brushed the side of my neck. His thumb came to rest against the line of my jaw. “It would mean giving up your life. Your family. Your humanity. Your chance to have children.”