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‘Yes.’

His shoulders sag. ‘Eissa was…disobedient. And there’s more to the story than a simple punishment. He was using Kori to gather information. Many of the council suspected Eissa was attempting to stage a takeover.’

I can’t read his face, and I hate it. Is that a warning? Is he onto me? Or is he lying?

‘Eissa…’ my hands hover. I need to be careful how I say this. ‘Cared about his human, and you killed him.’

Jyrion’s lips spread into something like a smile, fangs poking out. ‘Did he care for him? Or was he willing to let his human die to lessen his sentence? Kori was expendable. All humans are expendable to most Vyastil.’

‘Most,’ I repeat.

Jyrion shrugs and takes a single step toward me. There’s something in his face. Maybe I’m the biggest fool, but I swear it’s genuine. ‘Most. Not all. Some of us understand how rare it is when a human cares for us like they care for each other.’

I swallow heavily, then shake my head. ‘Eissa would never.’

Jyrion starts to reach for me, but his hand falls to his side. ‘Trusting him will only hurt you. Be careful. He will use every opportunity to further his grab for power. The scars stop him now, but they won’t stop him forever.’

I have no idea what to say, so I wait in silence as Jyrion kneels back down, scratches Gerald on the head, then stands back up and eventually disappears through the trees.

My chest feels strange as I beckon Gerald toward the cottage, and by the time I reach the steps, I can’t take it any longer. I don’t want to doubt Eissa. Everything I’ve felt for him has been so real. But what do I really know about him? I have only his side, and while he can show me the events, he blocked me from feeling what he felt.

Does that mean I would have been able to sense that he was grateful he sacrificed Kori’s life to protect his own?

No. It’s not possible. He hasn’t said the words, but I know Eissa’s fallen for me. I know he…

He loves me. The way I love him. He must. It’s so much more than words, and he’s compromised everything he believes in to keep me with him. Jyrion is the lying snake. He has to be.

Pressing my forehead to the closed door, I reach out across the connection. I can feel Eissa in conversation with someone, and I don’t think he notices me. I push quietly, digging into his head deeper until I realize I’m in an office with Rathyn.

They’re both speaking Eretharian, which doesn’t quite make sense to me until the words process in Eissa’s head, and I’m able to understand the general meaning of them.

“I don’t know if it’s possible,” Rathyn is conveying. “But I can look into it. How long have you and Luca been bonded?”

“A while. Since the conference in Las Vegas. I tried to stop it, to push him away, but it was impossible.”

“It was the same for my Everest and me.”

“And did you try to break the bond when you realized you would be attached to a human for the rest of your life? And that your life will end with his?”

Rathyn shakes his head. “By the time I realized what it meant, I already felt too deeply about my Everest. I will not lose him. I will happily return to the ground in death when he does.”

“I can’t take that risk with Luca,” Eissa says. “I don’t want him to die the way Kori did, but I don’t want to keep this⁠—"

I rip myself out of Eissa’s head as quickly as I can, my heart feeling like it’s going to shatter. I don’t need to see more than that. I don’t need to know how he’d rather throw me to the wolves and is only protecting me—fucking me, sucking me—for the sake of convenience.

To further whatever agenda he has going on with the rebellion.

I contemplate my options, staring at the wall for hours, waiting for Eissa to come home so I can confront him, oscillating between agony and blind rage.

As late afternoon approaches, rage wins out. I refuse to be Eissa’s fucking pawn any longer. I’ll take my chances with the people who want me dead at home. At least there I’ll have a fighting chance.

Pushing myself up, I storm through the house, my vision foggy with unshed tears as I drop to my knees beside the wardrobe in Eissa’s room. There’s a small sack there, and I begin to shove anything and everything I can get my hands on into the little carrying bag.

Someone will help me get back to Earth. I’ll sneak into the capital and bribe someone, or I’ll find Rathyn and demand he free me from this contract. They can’t hold me, and I refuse to meet the same fate as Kori.

I will not continue to love a monster who only sees me for what he can get out of me.

I’m done with that life. And Eissa can kiss my ass.