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The gentle girl he’d grown up beside had turned into a strong female. He’d trained her even when her father had declared her a lost cause. He remembered the extra nightly lessons and the way she strove to improve so that one day, perhaps her father could look at her with fresh eyes.

But no amount of training could have prepared her for the horrors she’d faced. She’d spent over a year in slavery, beaten and tormented as if she were another lowly half-breed. He clenched his fists.

They’d beaten his queen.

Their queen.

He knew she needed time to process, but he couldn’t let her throw her future away for that demon. He wouldn’t. It was a façade. The creature would tire of her eventually and it would leave Arianna heartbroken. She’d carry a reputation she didn’t deserve, suffering from all his failings.

Talon tried to quiet the raging storm in his blood. He could tell from their scents just how close they were. Everyone in Móirín would scent it too. And her father—Talon shivered. If she told her father the truth, he wasn’t sure what would happen.

Talon ducked his head inside the den, caught The Demon’s attention, and jerked his chin outside. He’d have to deal with this another way. If The Demon traveled to Móirín, they’d kill him and if Arianna tried to defend the creature, her people might cast her into exile. He couldn’t let that happen.

The insufferable creature took his time, leaving Talon to shiver in the cold, but he couldn’t risk Arianna overhearing. She’d fight it. Hell, The Demon might fight it too.

The Demon exited the den and the scent of him was enough to make Talon’s blood race. He’d spent years trying to catch this male, helping his previous commanders try to locate him and lay a trap. But no matter how hard they worked, this creature always thwarted them, and their plans backfired tenfold.

The Demon’s quick eyes took in Talon’s sentinels standing at a distance, surveying the pair with hands on their weapons. Talon didn’t miss the way the earth danced at his feet, staying low to the ground. He hated that magic and the smell of it.

The creature Arianna called Rion leaned against the wall at the entrance and tilted his head toward the dark sky. To a stranger’s eyes, he might have appeared like any other Fae, but Talon knew better.

“You know who she is.” Talon began.

“I know who she is.”

“Then you know she needs to return to Móirín.”

It all made sense now, why the Fairy Folk danced in her presence. How, despite a shy demeanor, she drew everyone in and why the idea of killing had always twisted her stomach in knots.

Rion’s jaw clenched “What, exactly, do you want from me?”

“Don’t play games.”

“I won’t force her. She’s free to make her own decisions.”

Yes, she was, but some decisions would have a lifelong impact and put her in more danger than it was worth. “She believes you love her.”

“I do.”

Talon clenched his jaw this time. “Then don’t condemn her to your way of life.” Rion didn’t look at him. “She may want to believe you redeemed, but I know the truth. I’ve seen the treacherous acts you’ve committed firsthand.”

“Don’t pretend your hands are clean.”

Memories surfaced. Memories he longed to forget. He’d learned the consequences to his actions at far too young an age. “A life spent with you is a life spent on the run. A constant struggle to survive. You’re strong, there’s no denying that, but how long will it take before someone realizes you care for her? How long before she’s injured. Or worse?”

“I can protect her.”

Talon continued as if Rion hadn’t spoken. “Do you think she’ll be happy with that life? Do you think she’ll be happy seeing the male she loves,” he choked on the word, “fight to protect her? To constantly worry whether you’ll come home?” Talon shook his head, hating his next words. “And what if you have children? Because she wants children someday. Are you certain you can protect them as well?”

Rion remained silent and Talon let his breath cloud in the frigid air “She’d be better off if you disappeared.”

“She’d look for me. You and I both know it.” He did. Arianna would search until the end of time. He knew how persistent she could be. He’d seen her push herself until her hands bled and exhaustion drove her to her knees.

Talon glanced back into the den, noting the rise and fall of her chest. He lowered his voice to a near whisper. “Did you kill her mother?”

Somehow, Arianna’s father had kept her mother’s death a secret, but his advisers knew the truth. The commanders knew the truth, but now that he saw The Demon up close, he wanted to hear it from the creature’s mouth.

“No.”