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The blow is so sudden, so complete, that I sway on my feet. My ribs feel like they’ve cracked inward.

But I don’t let it show.

I square my shoulders as my fingers curl into fists. I won’t break down. Not yet. His eyes won’t meet mine, and that tells me everything.

He’s in pain.

I don’t think he wants to do this.

“Will I be able to see Rhett?” I ask.

His head jerks up, and he stares at me like I’ve just kicked him in the chest. He’s silent for a long time. “Not him,” he finally says, his voice rough. “I’m sorry, but I’m not a saint.”

I nod once.

His eyes widen. He stares at me for a long while. Is he baffled by my calm?

Good. I hope it makes him rage. I hope that rage brings back the real Damian, vanquishing this ghost of the man I love.

“Did you not hear me?” His voice is louder. “Go! You have five minutes. If you aren’t gone by then, I’m locking you in the dungeon and never letting you leave.”

A light shines in my heart, dimly at first, but then it spreads through like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. He doesn’t want to do this. It’s taking everything within him to let me go.

But I’m going to make him say it. I can use my power for good. To save us both.

I lift my chin. “I have my own demand.”

He blinks.

“If you want me to go, you need to tell me how you really feel. About me. Do you want me to leave?”

His mouth opens, then closes again. He flinches as if I’d slapped him.

“How I really feel,” he echoes, seemingly to himself.

“Yes, how you really feel. Because I get the idea that you are—yet again—trying to take my choices from me. Trying to do whatyouwant, regardless of what I have to say.”

His nostrils flare. “You’re still in shock after everything you’ve been through. EverythingI’veput you through. You’re not in an emotional state to make life-altering decisions. Which is why I’m making it for you.”

“Bullshit.” I raise my chin. “Tell me you want me to leave. That’s the only way I’ll go on my own. But I’m not uprootingmy life to some faraway place you have picked out for me. I’m finishing my degree, goddammit. I’m going back to the Ashford dorms.”

He lets out an almost hysterical laugh. “The Ashford dorms. You won’t last there ten minutes. I’ll drag you back here.”

Warmth washes through my veins. “But you wouldn’t drag me back from whatever hideaway you have picked out for me?”

His jaw ticks. “I don’t know where it is. Hunter arranged it all. And he’s not allowed to tell me where it is even if I put a gun to his head.”

I snort. “You guys are both lunatics. Well, I’m not going. I’ll leave on my terms, which means I need you to tell me now that you want me gone. Tell me you’re bored with me. That you never really cared for me.”

“Fine!” His voice cracks like a whip.

He takes a slow step toward me. Then another. He stops when he’s inches away, and I almost see the tension vibrating from him like smoke in the air.

“I don’t…” His eye twitches. “I never…”

His face contorts—like a mask slipping—just long enough for me to see the devastation underneath. He drops to his knees, gripping my thighs and pressing his head against my stomach. His breathing is ragged, and his whole body trembles.

“I can’t—” His voice breaks. “I can’t say any of it. I don’t have the strength. Please don’t go, Ava. I shouldn’t be begging you. It’s wrong, but I can’t—” He releases something between a gasp and sob. “Please don’t go. I love you. I’ve loved you since the first time I touched you—lifted your chin with my— No. Before that. I’ve loved you since… Oh God, Ava. Please.”