Page 108 of Claim Me

Bane simply stares at me for a beat. Then he gives Fallon’s knee a squeeze and slips off the bed to grab a pair of pants from a drawer nearby. They’re technically my pants, but I don’t say anything to dissuade him. He snags a second pair for Nox and throws them to him.

“We’ll be in the hallway.” Bane’s gaze meets and holds mine. “Don’t break our trust.”

With that statement, he heads toward the door.

Nox doesn’t immediately follow, his attention going to Fallon. “Call us if you need us, firefly. We don’t care about the spell. We’re still yours.”

She blinks, causing one of the tears lingering on her lashes to fall.

But she doesn’t reply to him.

Nor does she look up at him.

Which causes him to give me an irritated glare before heading toward the door. “Don’t break our trust, Kas,” he echoes, making me sigh.

I fucked up by coming in here angry. It’s not like me. But hearing everything Ayla and Nolan said set me off, and no amount of pacing calmed me down.

I needed to see Fallon. Question her.Demandanswers.

But that wasn’t what I did at all.

I blindsided her and the phantoms, broke through Fallon’s barriers with a few pointed words, and reduced this strong female to a shell of a person by exuding my dominion over her.

Normally, she fights back.

But something about this situation destroyed her.

And Ihatethat I’m the cause.

“Fallon.” I can’t help the hint of command in my voice. It’s mostly to try to seize her attention. “I need you to do something for me.”

She gives a small nod. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Fuck, those two words again. They slam right into me in the worst way. I much prefer her sarcastic address over this defeated formality.

“I need you to reject me,” I tell her.

Her brow furrows. “What?”

“I want you to reject me,” I reiterate.

Her green eyes remind me of liquid emerald as she gazes up at me, her sadness piercing my very soul. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I don’t understand. Rejection won’t break the spell.” Her frown deepens. “Is that what Ayla told you?”

“No, she told me rejection won’t impact the spell either way.”

“Then I still don’t understand,” she says slowly. “What will the rejection accomplish?”

I sit on the bed near her legs, but I’m careful not to touch her. “Rejecting me will tell us if this is real or not.”

Her watery irises study me for a beat. “It’s dark magic, not fate,” she whispers then, her gaze lowering once more. “I know better now than to wish for anything else.”

I catch her chin and gently return her gaze to mine. “It probably is dark magic,” I concede. “However, I would like you to reject me anyway. It likely won’t do anything, but at least we’ll both know.”

She swallows. “Doing this implies hope.”

“Yes, I suppose it does. But I need to know this isn’t real. And I think you do, too.”

“This isn’t real.” Her voice is a little stronger, but the pain in her expression is heart-wrenching.