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“Harper, what happened?” Adrian wraps his arm around me and leads me into his room. He closes the door behind us and guides me toward the couch. “Talk to me.”
“Em and Tasha. You know, stay away from my man drama,” I say.
“From what man?” he asks.
My brow furrows. “You haven’t noticed that Tasha is obsessed with Liam?”
He shakes his head. “I must have missed the memo.”
I smile. “The memo? Does anyone even say that anymore?”
“Glad to see you’re well enough to make fun of me,” he says.
“Thanks for opening your door.” I haven’t seen him since he helped Liam and then took off. “I didn’t want to check my door for hexes while trying to flee from stray fireballs.”
I stand, ready to go back to my room. Adrian hasn’t exactly been welcoming of me lately and it feels a little awkward being in here with him.
He stands and runs his hand down my arm where there’s soot from my close encounter. “She used a weaker style of fire at least,” he said. “If she wanted to kill you, you’d be dead.”
“Good to know,” I say. “Maybe she’ll get me next time.”
“That’s not what I mean,” he says. “I’m glad you’re not injured.”
“Things would be far less complicated for you if I was gone, though, wouldn’t they?” I say. “No mating bond to deal with.”
He grabs both of my upper arms and takes a step closer to me. “Don’t you ever say anything like that again. You have no idea how much it hurts me to stay away from you right now.”
“It doesn’t seem like it,” I say.
“You don’t know everything,” he says. “You’re still new to this. You’re going to have to trust me.”
“I want to,” I say. “Do you know how hard it is to be around you and not be close to you? Every night I can feel you, but I can’t be with you. It’s killing me.”
“It’s killing me, too,” he says. “But I can’t have your scent on me. If the king summons me and he realizes the connection we have, we’re both fucked.”
“How is that any different than the situation we’re already in?” I demand. “We’re already both fucked as far as I can see. I slayed a monster. You know what it got me? Liam in the hospital and he won’t even see me. I got up to place two, but now I have to defend that and figure out a way to get up to first. And then I have to keep going. And I won’t know if it’s going to be enough. And I can’t risk any of you. None of it’s worth it if anything happens to any of you.”
Tears sting my eyes. All I want to do is bury my face in his chest and feel his strong arms around me. But he resists. Em’s right, I’m dangerous. There are no good options.
“What if I turn myself over to him?” I ask quietly. “I could stop all of this. Maybe he’d bargain with me. Take my power and let me go on with my life. I don’t want my magic. Not if it’s causing all this.”
“Don’t ever say that again,” he says. “You don’t know what you’re offering. You need your magic. It’s part of you. Without it, you’ll be a shell of yourself. You won’t gain your freedom. He’ll keep you locked up so he can continue to drain your power until there’s nothing left.”
“Are you sure?” I’m not even sure what I’m saying. But I feel like I’m running out of options. “Maybe there’s a compromise? Some way he can have what he wants and I can just live my life.”
“There’s not a happy ending for you with him,” he says. “Please trust me.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I ask. “Can’t I give my magic to someone else like you mentioned? You take it.”
“I can if we have to,” he says gently. “But that has to be a last resort.”
I break free of his grip and fall onto the couch, feeling defeated. “What am I supposed to do, Adrian?”
He walks over to the couch and sits down next to me. “You let your friends help you. You summon another monster and you gain more points. You stand up to the people who challenge you. You keep fighting.”
His expression is serious andholy shithe’s handsome. It’s been a while since the two of us have been alone. And even longer since I could just stare at his face up close.
He’s right, though. I need to keep fighting. Because giving in to the king means losing him. It means losing everything. And I can’t imagine not having my mates in my life.
