Page 127 of Cursed Evermore

“Indeed.” He gave me a clipped nod. “And the girl? What about her? I know what you did to save her. That was quite a big deal.”

He stared back at me, eyes assessing but already forming an opinion. I thought about what to say, and how much truth I was willing to admit, then settled on the safest answer.

“I couldn’t let her die. Elariya is the one link I have to getting the ring back.” Even as I spoke the words, I knew keeping Elariya alive went beyond finding the ring. What I did to save her from the Ruskiel’s final attack was testament of that.

I used my powers to defeat the witch, but the real threat came after the leeches latched onto Elariya and began draining her soul.

To stop them, I gave her a piece of myownsoul.

The soul transfer pulled the poison from her into me. My death magic did the rest, consuming the rot before it could kill her.

“We both know the ring is not theonlyreason you saved her, Wolfe. So let's cut the shit.” Bastian gave me a piercing stare, silently warning me not to deny the accusation.

I couldn't deny anything. How could I when only hours ago I'd stood in her room a breath away from fucking her?

I'd read that one little part in her journal, saw her in nothing but a bath towel, and went tumbling down the same path of destruction all men ended up on when they lost their heads over a woman.

The absolute truth was I wanted to give her more than that brush of a kiss. The night my traitorous mind had conjured saw me buried balls deep inside her.

Part of me wished I'd lost to temptation and made one more mistake with her. It would have been better than this.

The Ruskiel wouldn't have attacked, and Elariya wouldn't have nearly died.

Everyone saw what I did when I saved her. They knew what my sacrifice would cost me. But to those whoweren'tBastian, my actions would appear to be out of desperation to protect my route to getting my kingdom back and breaking my curse.

Bastian would look deeper. He would see what I wanted to hide from even myself.

The truth settled in the pit of my gut, but that didn't mean I wanted to talk about it. “Let’s just drop this. There are more important things to discuss.”

“You didn’t tell her you were cursed.” He cocked his head, amplifying his accusing stare.

“What does that have to do with anything?” I gritted my teeth. The worst thing about knowing someone for as long as I had known him was things like this. You couldn't hide your emotions.

“You didn’t want her to know something was wrong with you.”

Bastard. Of course, he’d seen straight through me. “Knowing about my curse isn’t relevant to her. Neither is anything else about me. She’s just a means to an end.” The words tasted like acid in my mouth, but I pushed away the sensation.

“Right, sure.” His sarcastic smirk turned into a lazy grin. “If you think letting hertouch your wingsand giving her a piece of your soul to save her life is a means to an end, then that’s fine by me. I just want you to be careful.”

“Iamcareful.”

“Usually, you are. Butyour magehas a tendency to make you act on impulse. Right now, if she dies, that part ofyoursoul dies too. And it would have been for nothing.”

I looked at the blood-soaked bandages on the floor, my emotions crashing over me. The remedies Bastian had given me would heal the parts of me that still had Fae essence. The cursed part healed itself by spreading more darkness through my body like a blight that caused rot. That part loved the void I’d created when I breathed my soul into Elariya.

Doing so was another reckless move on my part. But I didn’t have to question if I’d do it all over again if I had to.I would.

I couldn’t stop thinking about her hand reaching for mine as she lay in my arms fading from the world of the living. And the way she'd whispered my name like a prayer as if I were one of the saints instead of her monster.

Too many had died in my arms, and I’d refused to allow her to be another.

When death sunk its claws into her soul and wanted to rip her away from me, I’d decided to be a bigger fucker and keep her for myself.

Dangerous thoughts, Wolfe. Dangerous fucking feelings.

I knew I had to rein in my emotions, but that was my truth—I couldn’t let her die.

I flexed my fingers, watching the shadows dance between them. The curse hummed through my blood, a reminder of what was at stake and the journey I still needed to take.