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“As your mate?” he asked.

I looked at the ripped camouflage suit rather than at him. “I don’t know. We’ve known each other for two days. Not even quite that. That’s not a very long time to make big decisions like that.”

“You knew me well enough to mate with me.”

“Sex isn’t the same as promising someone the rest of your life.”

“I know. But it wasn’t just sex, was it? I’m not going to pretend I feel anything less because you need more time. You’re my mate, Robyn. What you choose to call me is still yours to decide.”

Sten opened his wings.

“Where are you going?”

“To fly.”

“You can’t go far.”

“Your blood still protects me.”

“We don’t know that.”

“Then this will be a useful test.”

“That’s a stupid reason to risk turning to stone.”

“It is not the reason I have to go.”

He walked towards the door.

I grabbed his arm. “Don’t leave because we had an argument.”

Sten looked down at my hand. “I cannot stay here while you try to decide whether you want me or merely feel responsible for keeping me alive.”

“You don’t need to disappear for me to think.”

“I need to fly.”

I released him.

He opened the door and walked outside. Cairn appeared from the kitchen, but Sten said something to him in their own language and continued towards the field.

“What did he say?” I asked.

“That he wants to be alone.”

Cairn watched his friend spread his wings. “I could follow him.”

“No.” I hated saying it. “Give him some space.”

Sten launched into the air without looking back.

I packed my suitcase. Then I unpacked it because one of my socks had gone missing. I found it beneath the bed, wrapped around the empty condom wrapper from that morning. I threw the condoms in the bin. Stared at it. I wanted to cry.

By the time I carried everything into the sitting room, Sten had been gone for almost an hour.

“He’s still moving,” I told Georgie.

He’d gone from being unable to have more than five feet between us to flying for miles. I should have been happy. Instead, I didn’t know what to feel.