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Once upon a time, such a declaration would’ve moved her, but Gabby was no longer a bright-eyed sixteen-year-old who believed in knights in shining armor.
“I do not need you to die for me. I need you to treat me as an equal. When someone threatens us, I want to face it together. I would rather die next to you than survive in hiding!”
“No. Never.” Pain flared in his gaze. A whip of agony slashed through her, stealing her breath before it was gone. Gabby spread her hand over her chest, rubbing at the odd aching. It had been so real. Her eyes widened as she realized it was him. Something she said had struck a nerve.
The implacable Felix of House Eden stood in front of her. The Ancient who had singlehandedly merged three separate Houses in Europe and carved his territory through Eastern Europe.
There was no changing his mind.
It was the same wall she’d always slammed into, until her spirit had been broken and she’d decided running was the smarter move.
“Fine! Then I’m not coming back.”
Gabby spread her wings and jumped off the roof. Her wings caught the rush of wind and lifted her up and away from her infuriating and stubborn mate.
Yes, run away. Like you always do.
She ignored his jab and kept going, focusing instead on the sun’s warmth on her skin and the wind billowing against her face.
She’d given Felix enough of her time already.
Time to end this mating bond that had tortured them for centuries.
Chapter Ten
“Fuck,”FelixbellowedwhenGabby disappeared and punched the wall behind him. Otherwise, he would chase after her, which neither of them wanted. The stainless-steel wall bent inward with the force of his fist. The pain burning his knuckles had nothing on the grief eating his insides.
He’d known the answer she wanted. He could’ve told her he saw her as an equal. Gave her what she needed in words.
But at the first sign of danger, she would know he lied.
How could she ask that of him? How could she ask him to allow her into danger? Knowing what could happen. Did she not realize how much her death haunted him? He’d turned her into a vampire. She hadn’t died. But every morning when he closed his eyes, he saw the sword sticking out of her chest, smelled her exquisite blood pooling on the ground.
Heard her last breath. Felt her heart stop beating.
All of it had never left him.
Wasn’t it enough he’d let her go? He wasn’t stupid, even though his deep-rooted vampire instincts urged him to drag her back. It’d been necessary. He’d seen the cracks forming around Gabby. She would’ve been irreparably broken if he hadn’t let her go.
Let her grow. Without him.
He’d already failed to protect her once. He wouldn’t break her. Not again.
That was six centuries ago. She’d done what she needed, developed into her power.
It was time for her to take her place by his side.
Felix stalked back inside, his skin red from being out in the sun. While the shield prevented them from burning to a crisp, it couldn’t completely negate the sun’s impact, at least not on an Ancient like him.
The argument left him frustrated and on edge, his animalistic side itching to come out and destroy something. A good, exhausting fight was what he needed to work off the built-up aggression. Normally, Nasir served as his sparring partner, but he was in Vegas, surrounded by other powerful vampires.
He couldn’t be the only sleepless one today.
Felix expanded his senses and discovered what he needed in the building’s basement. He took the elevator down and made a beeline for the football-sized stadium as soon as he arrived on the bottom floor.
The arena under the Central Tower was kept secret from humans. Vampires who broke the law could challenge Julian to a duel here. If they won, they could walk free.
Trial by combat. Some thought it barbaric. Yet, for vampires, to whom power and strength meant everything, it made sense. It gave the younger vampires hope, hope that they could win. Made them easier to catch if they knew they might make a name for themselves by killing Julian Blackmore.
