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He smirked. “Tell me why you’re afraid of me.”

“I’m not.”

“Then tell me what it was like the first time you took me into your bed.”

Her cheeks flamed as a flash of him unbuttoning the back of her dress flitted across her mind. She scowled up at him. “Why do you always have to be an ass?”

“Why is my asking being an ass? We were married. It was our wedding night. You asked me to wait. A test of my devotion.” She felt his power grow stronger. “So, tell me. Did you enjoy it?”

Layala smacked his hand away. “Stop it. I’m with Thane—” but she wasn’t.

His scowl deepened. “No, you’re not. Or did you forget your last conversation with him and why you cry every night and every morning?” He may as well have stuck a knife in her chest and twisted it. It was bad enough he’d witnessed their breakup and now he heard her crying about it? “And the only time you haven’t cried was this morning—with me there.”

When he curled up with her, warm and vulnerable.

With tears burning, she turned her face away.

“You didn’t answer. Did you like it when I carried you to the bed and laid you down for the first time?”

She remembered her dress falling around her ankles and he slipped one arm behind her back, one under her knees and swung her up against his chest. The way he looked down at her, she’d never seen someone more in love. It wasn’t her first time but with him it felt new, magical, intense.

Turning away, she pushed back his magic she felt wrapping around her like a cloud.

“Of course, you liked it,” he said. “You loved it. You wanted me all the time. You wanted me like you wanted air.”

With a snarl Layala whirled around. “So did you. You couldn’t keep your hands off me. You were in love with me from the moment I kissed you. You would have done anything for me. If I’d have made you wait a hundred years, you would have.”

“No, the moment I fell in love with you, Valeen, was when I saw you standing at the top of those stairs in my house. There were a hundred ladies there, but I only saw you. You came to me when you should have let me go. You promised me forever, and I, you.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “That’s why I can’t understand where it all went wrong. Tell me why.”

She was shaking her head, baffled at it herself. “I don’t know.” Because she knew she’d been in love with him, that she’d have done anything for him. She’d have gone to the ends of every realm to be near him, fought any monster, forsaken all others.

But he did something.

Broke her heart.

Crushed her soul.

She felt the ghost pain now, but she couldn’t think of a reason.

Why couldn’thetell her what went wrong?

Something was missing from both of their memories.

He grabbed her arms, squeezing gently. “Tell me.” His magic enveloped her and the pull to spill her every secret was there, but no memories surfaced, no words came.

“I don’t know!”

He let go of her and turned, stalking away.

“How long were we married?” she shouted after him.

He stopped and whirled back around. “Nine years. It’s nothing in the life of a god. It may as well have never happened.” He flicked his fingers out to the side. “Just a blip, the blink of an eye. It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter! Nine years ruined the last two thousand years of our lives!”

“Yes, it did,” he said with a sneer. “Which is all the more reason for you to remember how to open the way back to Runevale. You’re the one who closed it. And the sooner you know how, the sooner we can part ways.”

“Me?” Layala stared at him, realization crashing in on her like a brick wall folding. “That’s what you want. You need me to open the door for you.”