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“No, thank you.”
An awkward and tense silence followed. Her instincts urged her to run. She’d take dealing with Felix any day over being in Alistair’s proximity.
“Do you need something?” Alistair spoke first. “Unless you’re here to ogle me, which I appreciate, but don’t tell Felix. I’d prefer not to stake him when he does something stupid.”
“I’m not here to ogle you,” she snapped, anger getting the better of her.
His smile widened, and she realized what he’d done. The annoyance and frustration gave her strength, broke the razor-edged tension and fear locking her tongue.
“Do you know how to break the mating bond?” No point in more small talk.
His smile disappeared, his expression unreadable. “Yes.”
“How?” She couldn’t quite keep the excitement out of her voice.
“Are you that eager to rid yourself of the mating bond? Some vampires, even humans, wait their entire lifetime without finding their soulmate.”
“And I wish them luck. I want to break mine. Now tell me how.”
“You can kill Felix. His death will break the bond.”
A frustrated growl escaped her. She knew that already. She’d contemplated killing him, dreamed it as much as she’d dreamed of making love to him. Yet, her heart shattered, pain stealing her breath every time she imagined his death. It was the mating bond at work, stopping her hand, for without it, she would have no trouble ending Felix’s life.
“Is there a way to break it without killing one of us? Like a spell?”
Alistair leaned back on his arms, his expression contemplative, but his voice was stone hard when he said, “You care enough about him to not kill him, but not enough to give him another chance.”
Gabby swallowed and dug deep for the anger and hurt that had given her the strength to leave Felix in the first place. “He won’t change.”
“But you haven’t tried.”
“Do you know a way or not? I’m not here for your advice.”
Fear snaked down her spine in icy waves when Alistair’s gaze narrowed. “You can wait another five hundred years. Considering the state of your bond, it might break then.”
It had occurred to her maybe she only needed more time. After six centuries apart, the mating bond, which used to be a rope as thick as her thumb, had frayed, with several spots connected only by a thin thread. But did she have the strength to resist Felix for another five centuries? She wasn’t sure, not after last night.
“I don’t have five hundred years. I need it now.”
“Fine.”
He snapped his fingers.
Gabby gasped.
A deep, frigid void opened inside her. No words were adequate to describe the unbearable emptiness. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think past the yawning blankness consuming her being. Everything that made her Gabby, made her who she was, disappeared, swallowed by the darkness. The world muted around her, the sun turning gray. No, not gray. Less bright, as if it was behind thick clouds even though the sky was clear.
She clawed at her chest to dig out the desolate void. She had to stop it from spreading. Stop it from consuming her.
She was drowning and burning and suffocating all at once.
Snap.
And things returned to normal.
Gabby’s breath came in ragged gasps. Her heart slammed against her chest like a runaway car. Pain, this time physical, burned at her throat. The wounds had healed but there was no hiding the dried blood on her nails.
“Is that what you want?” Gabby looked up when Alistair spoke. Power swirled around him. His pupils had dilated until blackness swam in his eyes. “That is what it feels like without a mate. Imagine an eternity of it. Is that what you want? Will you subject Felix to it? If the bond is broken, you will never find another mate.”
