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“I’m really not in the mood to play games, Titus. Say what you have to say.” I mirror his pose, not allowing him to out attitude me.
His chest deflates and his arms drop back to his side, obviously realizing he isn’t going to get anywhere that way. “Don’t tell her. Please.”
I press my lips into a thin line, a crease forming between my brows as I really study him. He’s been distant since the battle, and I wanted to give him time to handle his shit before I had this conversation with him. Although there was no love lost between the two of them, his father was still killed, and the person he thought he had on his side through it all, betrayed him in the end and is now gone in the wind.
I thought he was going to take the time he needed to process all of that and the break of his bond with Nelle, then do the right thing. But I guess not.
“Why?” I don’t inject any of the emotions I feel swirling inside my chest into the question, needing to hear him out first.
“I have to let her go, Liv,” Titus says on a pained breath, and despite how much he tries to hide it, I can tell just how much it hurts him to admit that. “She hates me, I can see it every time she looks at me. The only thing that was drawing her to me was the soul bond, and with that gone, there’s nothing to keep her here.”
“You don’t know that,” I hiss, narrowing a glare at him. “She’ll hate you even more if you keep this from her and she eventually finds out.”
“Then don’t tell her,” he says again, his light brown eyes pleading as they lock with mine. “You’ll only hurt her—you’ll hurt us both.”
Silence stretches between us as I think over his request. It isn’t fair for him to put me in this position, but would it be fair to Nelle to tell her this, to put the thought of a mate in her head and add to the stress that she’s already under with having to go to her guardian training in a few days?
“No, Titus. I can’t promise that I won’t tell her. Don’t place the weight of that on my shoulders to bear.” I shake my head, memories of my mates flashing through my mind. Regardless of the bond that links our souls as one, I still couldn’t imagine my life without them. “The fates bonded your souls for a reason. You’re meant for each other, and maybe all this is what you’re meant to go through, to show each other that it isn’t just the connection that draws her to you like you said.”
He takes a deep breath and squeezes his eyes closed, as though he wants to believe it but he just can’t let himself.
“I’ll keep it to myself for now,” I murmur, hating the pain and relief that mixes on his face as his eyes snap open. “Only because of what you were willing to do for me—for Maximus.”
I pull in a shuddered breath as tears prick at my eyes at the memory of Titus with that dagger, the struggle between him and Nelle when he tried to give his life to save Max.
“There wasn’t another option in my mind, Liv,” Titus says, shaking his head like he can’t handle the praise for his selfless act. “It was my fault he was in there in the first place. If I hadn’t—”
“No,” I cut him off. “It wasn’t your fault. We all brought him in, we all hoped that he could change. Don’t put that on your shoulders.”
I take a tentative step forward, unsure if he’d even want my hug, but before I can talk myself out of it, he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. I’m frozen in shock for a moment, but I quickly regain my composure and return the hug, needing him to know that he has someone, that he isn’t alone in this new world.
“There was always another way, Titus. You’re just too good of a brother to have thought of it, but I would’ve done it for you,” I murmur, needing him to know there wasn’t a second that I was going to just let him take his own life once I knew.
His grip on me tightens in response and he nods once he pulls away, silently acknowledging my words.
“There were two people to blame, two people who made the conscious choice to place that spell, and neither of them were you,” I say, needing him to understand that.
“I know,” he murmurs, swallowing thickly, his eyes shining brightly in the moonlight with unshed tears.
“I’ll give you time to handle yourself, and give Nelle an opportunity to adjust, but you’ll have to tell her eventually,” I warn, my gaze stern. He blinks away the moisture that welled in them and nods in understanding.
“Okay, but—”
“No buts!” I declare. “You’re doing it or I’m doing it for you. You say that she hates you, but she might just surprise you.”
I smile softly, my brows lifting as hope fills my chest. I don’t want to promise anything, but I know my best friend, and regardless of the bond, I know the concern she showed for him was genuine.
“Okay.” He sighs, and thankfully it isn’t followed with a but this time.
“Now, were you actually heading back to the manor or were you just stalking us to make sure I didn’t say anything?”
Judging by the reddening of his cheeks and the way he remains silent, I’m going to go with the latter.
“Well then get back to the party and we’ll meet you there soon,” I say, waving him away in dismissal.
“No one’s going to want me there,” he says, looking down at his feet.
“I do not know who this mopey guy is. Where is my usually over-confident brother?” I snap my fingers in front of him to get his attention, and clasp his shoulders, needing him to look my way. “If you want Nelle to like you on her own, I can tell you right now this isn’t the way. Now we’re going to get changed and you are going to charm and annoy your way into her heart, do you understand?”
