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He studied me, eyes scanning me up and down in the quiet as my thoughts raced. The seconds slipped by, then minutes. And I was going to drown in the silence if he didn't say something.

"I won't let that happen," he finally said, and there was something ragged in his voice as he reached up to wipe a falling tear from my cheek.

"Really?" I asked, my heart feeling like it might burst or crack, I couldn't be sure which.

He nodded slowly. "We can work together. We can find a wayto stop this." He turned, pacing again with renewed energy. "It will be difficult?—"

"I've already destroyed the blood oaths in Luminaria." The words stopped him mid-stride.

"All of them?" His eyebrow arched.

"All of them."

A smirk tugged at his lips—the one I used to know so well. He strode back to me. "You're brilliant." He neared me, something soft shifting in his expression. "It's why I fell in love with you."

The words struck something hollow in my chest, leaving only distant sadness in their wake.

"The two of us together, think of what we could do, Fia." His voice dropped lower, more intense. "We can tear down this Kingdom and rebuild it however we want. Stop this theft, bring life back to that dying realm." His fingers traced my jaw. "Your power, Fia. Imagine what you could do."

I looked into those emerald eyes that had once meant everything to me, and I finally understood. Those words onthoselips would have melted me months ago, they would have filled the void in me that years of isolation had carved out. Laryk did love me, in his own way. But his love was shaped by potential, by power, by what I could do for him. And I knew with a certainty it wasn't going to be enough anymore—perhaps it could have been, before, but not now. I deserved a different kind of love.

And so I took a step back, feeling the air between us turn to ice. "I need your help, Laryk. I need your help to right this, to bring balance back to this world, but not like that." My voice was barely above a whisper.

Pain flashed across his face before anger leaked in. "What are you saying?"

"I have to go back there. To Umbrathia."

"No." He nearly growled. "I just got you back, Fia. I can't allow you to leave again. You don't know what it did to me."

"I'm sorry, Laryk," I said, my voice a plea. I opened my mouth, then closed it. I didn't know what else to say—how to make the words form.

"Why are you behaving this way?" His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

"Because..." I trailed off as he raced forward, pulling me against him again.

"Stop, Fia. Nothing has to change between us." His arms wrapped around me, securing me against his chest. "I'll do whatever you need me to." The look in his eyes—the desperation caused guilt to churn through me.

Because it wasn't him. It was me. I was the one who changed.

His face lowered, breath heating my face right before his lips seared into mine once again.

Then shadows erupted.

Aether materialized in a surge of darkness, tearing me from Laryk's grasp and stepping in front of me in one fluid motion. But Laryk had anticipated the movement—his dagger already pressed against Aether's throat. The two men stood nearly chest to chest, Aether's towering frame forcing Laryk to look up, golden eyes meeting emerald in a clash of wills.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

The two menremained locked in their deadly stance, neither willing to yield first. Slowly, Laryk's emerald eyes slid to me, and I watched realization settle across his features. The dagger lowered as he took a step back, his gaze darting between Aether and me.

Then he threw his head back and laughed, the sound sharp as it echoed through the chamber. "Oh, this isrich." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "Well, it all makes sense now. Your sudden shift in allegiances."

"That's not what this is about." I moved to stand beside Aether, my shoulder barely brushing his arm.

Laryk's eyes tightened at our proximity, but his smirk only grew crueler. "Although, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You seemed so passionate about your place in the Guard after that night in Emeraal. So eager to please once you'd been satisfied." The look in his eyes had me burning at the accusation. "You do remember that night, don't you, Fia? I certainly do—in vivid detail."

Aether surged forward, shadows pouring out of him, but Laryk didn't flinch. He simply twisted the dagger through his fingers andcocked his head to the side. "He makes quite the guard dog, I'll give you that."

"Better than the last man meant to protect her," Aether's voice was deadly smooth despite the rippling of his tightened muscles. "The one who hesitated, who watched as she was taken."