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I could only stare at him. “Say it again.”
“The curse?”
“My name.”
His body lurched forward, then stopped. He was just outside the grove of aspens, the light from the library illuminating him on all sides. I stood beneath the shadow of the trees.
“What is holding you back? Is it because I am mortal?”
He closed his eyes. I stepped forward.
“No.” When he opened his eyes, they widened briefly at my nearness. “You should never have agreed to my bargain.”
“When we crossed through that awful gate, I heard Hector say that you were running out of time. For what?”
His expression hardened. “You heard us?”
“I heard you say that my life meant something to you. But you won’t come near me.” I stepped forward again.
“Talia.” He lifted a hand and held my arm, preventing me from coming any closer. “You should go. At the end of the month, Hector will return you to your family. I would do it now, but I cannot break my vow.”
A gasp exploded from my lips. “What?”
“The reason I married you was foolish. I regret it now.”
My shoulders fell, and I clapped a hand over my still-open mouth. Pain stabbed my chest as I choked out a sob. “You’re just like the rest of them. You don’t want me.”
Rafael yelled an angry note and stormed toward me. Terrified, I stumbled backward until I bumped into a tree. Then he dropped his head nearly to his chest, his forehead barely brushing mine. My muscles froze. He breathed labored breaths, as if holding back what he really wanted to say. Confused, I swallowed my tears and tried to remember to breathe.
“If I could change things, I would,” he muttered over my head. “I would rewrite the three hundred years of my existence to prevent you from feeling this way right now. You deserve nothing but happiness, and I stole that from you.”
He pressed his lips to the top of my head, and with that gesture, I forgot all of his senseless words. I tilted my head back, forcing him to meet my eyes.
“You fear I am not happy here?”
A tremor shook him. “You must not be.”
“Is that a command or a statement?” His lips were close enough to kiss. But he would have to be the one to do that, not me. My heart hammered so violently he must have felt it. When he didn’t move, I whispered, “I chose this.”
His hands lifted to my face. His lips brushed against my cheek. “You have no idea what you chose.”
He released my face and stepped back, one knuckle pressed to his mouth.
Chest heaving, I placed a hand to my cheek, as if I could keep his warmth there.
The library door burst open, and Hector rushed to the top of the stairs. “Fabian must have heard. Someone from his court just arrived.”
20
Rafael
I stormed through the dark entryway. Tossing a glance over my shoulder for any signs of Talia, who had fallen behind, I threw my hand in the air. The lock exploded off the door handle and slid across the tile.
Hector cracked his knuckles. “Are you sure you want to let him in?”
I seethed as I stared at the floor. “No. But if I don’t, he’ll take her away.”
“You speak like you still hope she’ll fall in love with you,” he replied in a low voice. “You cannot have it both ways, brother. Either she falls for you and dies when the first change destroys her mortal body, or you make her hate you and thus offer her a chance to live out her paltry years.”
