I gasp, my breath catching in my throat. “How… how do you know about that?”
“You’re not denying it?” His voice is a whisper, sharp as a blade.
“I asked you, how do you know?”
He releases me, taking a step back, the space between us suddenly an abyss. “He told me.”
“Well, he shouldn’t have. That was between him and me.”
“So it’s true?” His voice cracks, and for the first time, I see the man behind the cold exterior—hurt, raw, and breaking.
I throw my hands up. “Yes, it’s fucking true!”
He staggers back as if the words are a physical blow. The silence between us is suffocating.
“Youliedto me?” he finally asks, voice deep and strained. “You talk about me keeping secrets, and yet, you’re the one who lied.”
Acid fills my veins at the accusation. “I didn’t lie, you arsehole. I just didn’t tell you the whole story. You should know what that’s like!” I turn away, my vision blurring, needing to escape this suffocating confrontation.
“Eirabella, wait—” His voice breaks, desperate. It’s the first time he’s said my name since last night, and it stops me cold. Before I can react, his hand closes around my arm, spinning me back to face him. He presses me against the nearest tree, his body close, too close. His scent, the warmth radiating from him, surrounds me, and I can’t breathe.
We’re both panting, our faces inches apart, the world around us falling away, leaving just us and this unbearable tension.
“What did you do? Exactly. The deal you made with my father.” His voice is softer now, rough and raw.
I grimace, my chest tightening. There’s no point in hiding it now. “I told him that I would agree to train to be Aquilith, and if I was successful, he was to give you what you wanted, no more hoops, no more conditions.”
He blinks, the disbelief written across his face. “Why did you… why did you do that?”
I drag in a shuddering breath. “Remember in the woods, the day we were heading into the capital? I told you that you didn’t know what it’s like to not have control over your life. I realised that day in the throne room, when you were talking to your father, that maybe youdidknow. So I guess I had a moment of misguided compassion for you and thought if one of us could have some semblance of control over our lives, then you deserved that.”
He stares at me, the amber flecks in his eyes flickering like roaring flames. “I… I can’t believe you did that.”
“Why?”
“Because… no one has ever cared about what I wanted, what I needed…ever. Let alone a complete stranger.” His voice cracks, and he shakes his head as if trying to piece together the puzzle that is me. “I can’t believe… that you did that.” He cups my cheek, so gently I think I’m only imagining his palm touching my skin. “Who are you, Eirabella Kaye? How did you become like this?”
“Like what?”
“Like…this. Care about someone who stole you from your home without a word of explanation. Changed the entire trajectory of your life.”
“You don’t have to know someone to care about their happiness, Rylan. That’s not what..being kind, means.” The words are soft, vulnerable. But then, the hurt claws its way back up, and I add, “But if I’d known that he couldn’t have cared less about me, felt anything for me, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
Those amber flecks flash blue, then white-hot as he leans in, his hands bracketing my head against the rough bark. His breath ghosts over my skin, and every nerve in my body comes alive.
“Eira, how can you possibly think I don’t feel anything for you?” His voice comes out in a broken rasp. “He leans closer, his lips brushing, ghostlike, against the shell of my ear. Every inch of my skin suddenly feels like it’s on alert, aching for more of his touch. “Does this feel like there’s nothing between us?” One finger comes down to trace the curve of my cheek, sending shivers through me. “You think I haven’t been fighting this... fightingussince the moment I laid eyes on you?”
The air between us feels tight with anticipation, every breath, every heartbeat thrumming with suspense. My gaze flickers to his lips, and for the first time, I don’t think, I just give into thefeel. All that exists is him, this moment, and the space between us that’s about to dissolve into the ether.
My breath catches in my throat at the intensity in his voice, the raw honesty that’s burning in his eyes.
“Rylan...” I start, but I don’t know what to say. I’m angry, confused, hurt, but beneath it all, there’s this undeniable pull between us, something I’ve been trying to ignore but can’t any longer. I push on his chest, but he grips my wrists and pins them over my head against the tree.
“I have craved you since the moment I saw you,” he admits, his voice dropping to a whisper as his eyes bore into mine. “You drive me so fucking insane. I can’t think straight when you’re around.”
Prove it,the thought is on the tip of my tongue, but instead, I ask, “Then why push me away? Why make me feel like I don’t matter?”
His grip on me tightens, his fingers digging into my skin as if he’s afraid I’ll slip away. “Because you do matter. Too much.”
