Page 28 of Twist of Fate

“You want me here. You want this…mate thing to work.”

Connal stilled at that, something in the phrasing catching oddly, but the intent behind it was correct enough that he inclined his head again. “It will.”

Luke’s mouth twitched, not quite a smile. “Sure.”

The tension eased again, not gone, but quieter, as if whatever had been out of place was beginning to settle into something more manageable. Connal accepted the change immediately. Finally, Luke was beginning to see reason.

“Then we have a problem,” Luke continued.

“There is no problem.”

“There is,” Luke said, unbothered. “Because everything you just listed?” He gestured vaguely between them. “Doesn’t happen if I stay here.”

Connal frowned. “You are mistaken.”

“Am I?” Luke’s tone remained even, almost conversational. “Because from where I’m standing, you’ve got a situation you don’t understand, I’m in a place I don’t belong, and people are trying to kill me over something I haven’t finished dealing with.”

Connal’s expression hardened. “That is precisely why you will not return.”

“And that,” Luke said, cutting in smoothly, “is where you’re wrong.”

The bond jolted, spiking sharply before settling again into that same strange, structured tension.

Luke held his gaze, unflinching. “You don’t get what you want if I stay here.”

Connal’s instincts rejected that immediately. “You are here. That is sufficient.”

“It’s not,” Luke said. “Because whatever you think this is?” He tapped a finger lightly against his own chest before pointing to Connal. “It doesn’t work if I’m not on board.”

The dissonance shifted again, not resisting, not correcting—waiting.

“You will accept—” Connal caught himself.

“Not unless I choose it,” Luke said, the interruption quiet but absolute.

That was incorrect. It had to be. Connal’s guts twisted and his chest tightened. The bond was everything.

And yet⁠—

Connal swallowed his outrage and did not respond immediately.

The dissonance did not resolve.

Luke let the silence stretch just long enough to matter before continuing.

“If you want any of this to work, you need me functional.”

Connal frowned. “You are not injured.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Luke’s tone remained even, but the focus behind it sharpened further. “I’ve got something unfinished. Something important enough that someone tried to kill me for it.”

Connal’s instincts reacted immediately, tension tightening through his frame. “That is no longer your concern.”

No, protecting Luke was Connal’s duty now. The rest would follow.

“It is entirely my concern,” Luke countered. “And it doesn’t go away just because you dragged me here…to your castle or whatever this is.”

Connal stepped closer, the bond pulling sharply now. “You will remain here. I will handle the threat.”