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Not outright—he’d never spoken about my monster, that I could remember. And he’d never said that hecouldn’tmove faster than your average fae, either.

But he hadn’t told me those things.

And to me, that was as good as a lie.

I ran until my lungs burned too much to keep running, until my legs shook so hard that I could no longer continue. My knees cracked against each other, and I went down hard.

Namir caught me before my face met the rocky dirt below me—his hand was on my bicep, and he lowered me to the ground when he realized I couldn’t stand anymore.

My face was coated in dried blood that flaked off my skin with every brush of a tree branch or hand. Tear stains tracked down my cheeks, cutting through the cracked crimson that was evidence of the lives I’d taken.

Not my wolf.

Not my monster.

Me.

I had taken those lives; I had killed those fae.

I belonged on the sunny island, where my magic would be voided and I’d slowly die a horrible, painful death.

But Namir would never take me there; he never took anyone there.

“Let go of me.” I ripped my arm away from him, as soon as my legs were on the dirt, my body kneeling in front of him unintentionally.

He dropped to his knees in front of me, his hands capturing mine. The look in his eyes was desperate, and panicked.

It only infuriated me further.

He knew he hadn’t been honest.

“What else have you kept from me?” I snarled at the king.

Unlike me, he wasn’t drenched in blood. There were a few cuts on his torso, but they were already healed—he must’ve healed faster than most fae, too, because it was too soon to be completely recovered. I was more acquainted with the healing times for various wounds than most fae—far more acquainted.

“Diora.” His voice had an edge of desperation, but also growl. “I was trying to protect you—I’ve always been trying to protect you.”

“I never asked you to do that.” My glower was hot and fierce. “Tell menow.”

He shoved a hand through his hair. It was the first time I’d seen him like that—scared, and angry, and unhinged. “Now that we’ve met, our lives are connected. We’ll live or die as one, whether or not the bond begins to fully form. Laith knows, which means he’ll be focused on doing everything he can to kill you, to end me. He can’t kill me, because we share magic—but you aren’t connected to him. Only me. We need to cement the bond.”

“Like hell we do,” I snarled back. “You’ll never fucking touch me again.”

His gaze grew darker, and more desperate. “You’re in danger, Diora.”

“I’ve been in danger since the day I was born.”

“You’revulnerable.”

My glare heated. “Because I wasn’t while I was chained to a wall for twenty-one fucking years? Vulnerability is nothing new to me. I’d prefer risking my life daily to being bonded with a bastard who’d lie to me about my own magic. What else have you kept to yourself?”

His expression only grew darker. “Nothing.”

I barked out a humorless laugh. “Like hell you haven’t.”

My finger lifted, my hand and arm shaking as I pointed toward the castle I’d finally started to think of as my home.

That was over, now.