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Exhaling, I threw my pen down and rubbed my temples.
“He died during the war.”
“Which one?”
“The Great One.”
She frowned, the lines of her forehead furrowing inward slightly.
“That was…”
She thought for a second, but I saved her the effort.
“Two hundred years ago,” I finished for her.
“And he was an Original?”
I sighed heavily. “Yes.”
I didn’t want to have this conversation, but I also knew she wouldn’t let it go until I answered.
“Explain again how immortals can be killed,” she said.
I had to remember to be patient with her. Her father kept so much information about our world from her, and she was learning so much in such a short amount of time.
“All Originals can be killed in some manner, but it is exceedingly difficult to do. We all have a weakness, although what it is varies from one to another. When one Original goes against another, our chances of survival decrease exponentially. I don’t know exactly how Elijah was killed, but I held him as he drew his last breath.”
It was a memory I could have done without, and I wished to all the gods that I wasn’t forced to relive them constantly.
She reached across the desk for my hand, and I jerked it back, shaking my head. It wasn’t the first time she’d tried this, her physical comfort harder to resist with every attempt.
“What?” Briar asked, sounding genuinely confused by my apparent annoyance.
But I wasn’t annoyed, even if I sounded that way. I was just finding it difficult to say no to her.
“You need to stop doing that,” I told her, like I had a hundred times before. “We are not a couple.”
An offended look crossed over her face as she withdrew her hand like a kicked puppy. I refused to let myself feel bad about it. She didn’t know it, but I was protecting her.
Again.
“I have to go out for a few hours,” I informed her, heading toward the door before she could respond. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“No! Wait!”
Against my better judgment, I turned to her expectantly.
“Can I come tonight?” she asked.
“No,” I started to say, but she was already talking over me.
“I won’t be any trouble, and you know it’s more fun when I come,” she insisted. “Don’t pretend you don’t like the company.”
I eyed her, and she met my stare evenly, daring me to argue, but I couldn’t. I did enjoy having her with me when she came, even though it was better if she remained at the estate.
“It’s not safe,” I tried to reason, and she laughed.
“Are you saying you can’t watch me?” Briar teased.
