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Naia squeezed her eyes shut and the horrid memory of Kaleo’s death played behind them. No fear resided in his last moments. Only peace as he regarded her with adoration, conveying one last I love you. A third great loss, her infinite heartbreak.

The sides of Naia’s throat felt as if they were glued together. “Solaris,” she wheezed, “let me go.”

Kaleo was gone.

Her chest rose and fell at a rapid rhythm, unable to control her breath.

Dead—

Because of her.

No, because of fate.

“High Goddess of Fate?—!”

Solaris slapped his hand over her mouth to stop her. “Naia, if you bring Lady Ruelle here, it will only make matters worse.”

Naia plunged her teeth into the side of his hand. He recoiled his arm, and she snapped her head back, feeling the crack of his nose against her skull.

Solaris grunted, but his arms were like vines strapped around her.

“Let me go! Let me go!” Naia lashed her legs out. The wounds in her back hadn’t healed yet, and with each thrash, bits of her raw skin and cartilage rubbed raw against the material of Solaris’s tunic.

The bone-deep agony stirred her nausea.

Bracing his back against the wall, they slid to the floor. Solaris’s legs locked around Naia’s, the crooks of his elbows smothering her waist.

He tucked his face into the crevice of her neck. “I will not let you go.” The dripping of his tears ran down her clavicle, the way rain settled between the veins of a leaf. “I cannot bear to watch it again, Naia. Please, I beg of you, stop this.”

His hopeless plea traveled through her anguish and reached her. This was not Solaris, the selfish High God, but the young lord she once believed to have loved.

Naia surrendered against his hold, dropping her head. “I do not wish to live anymore.” The words scraped up her throat and left her mouth in a cry.

He guided her head onto his shoulder, pushing back the strands in her face. “I know, I know.”

They wept together while Solaris held onto her, anchoring her with the strength of his embrace.

Part Three

To Find What You Seek

25

WHAT’S MINE IS YOURS

The Present

“Now you see,” Naia sniveled. “Those I cherish are always taken away from me.”

Ronin sat up. “Dammit, Naia.” He ran his fingers through his hair, curling their ends in his fist. “You didn’t deserve any of that. Worst of all, after they put you through so much hell, not once did you think about retaliating.” He scowled. “You’re too fucking good for them.”

“It wasn’t that I never thought about it. I wished to be free. Live my life.” She cleaned her face with the heel of her hand. “I’m sorry if I showed you too much.”

He lifted his head, revealing his tightly knitted brow. “Stop apologizing. You can show me whatever the fuck you want to show me, but don’t expect me not to be angry or sad about it. Like I said earlier, I care about you, so it fucking kills me to see what you had to go through.”

She lightly placed her hand on his rigid arm. “I appreciate how much you care.”

His eyes filled with a familiar, dark glint, his lips thinning. “They lay another goddamn hand on you, I’ll send them to the Land of the Dead myself.”