Page 80 of Threaded

He turned his gaze back to the ceiling, wanting to tell her what he needed to without being distracted by … well, her.

Andrian heaved a breath. “My father, Lord Laurent … he expects a great deal from the members of his house, myself included. And this … this fate, me being Marked, moving to Verith … it hadn’t been what he’d wanted, to put it mildly. Of course, it’s not like any of this was my fault—when I was Marked, I didn’t have a choice. My future was sealed, and there was nothing he could do to change it. And he’s not a man who takes well to not getting his way. But, as he made sure to remind me at every chance he could, at least he had another son.” He couldn’t keep the bitterness from leeching into his voice.

Some wounds never truly healed.

“He could live with me being Marked. He could live with his son and heir becoming a general or other military commander. But long ago, what he told me he couldn’t live with was me being Selected and forced to serve someone who wasn’t him.” Lies by omission, all layered in truth. That was the only way he could sell this story without her learning the full extent of the danger he’d brought her, just by being there. Maybe one day, he’d tell her everything.

But it definitely wasn’t going to be when she was lying naked in his bed.

The silence and tension radiating from Mariah was enough to pull his gaze back from the ceiling to her green gaze.

Her eyes were bright, her body thrumming with barely contained power, her skin beginning to faintly glow.

Finally, after a long pause, she spoke.

“I gave everyone a choice at the Selection. You didn’t have to say yes.”

The ghost of a smile touched his lips, his sadness seeping into his veins, the darkness of his magic prickling at his skin.

“Yes. I did.”

She had no idea how much I had to say yes.

Mariah went utterly still.

He continued.

“The second I saw you, not just in the temple but in the palace courtyard, I knew I wouldn’t be able to say no to you. I tried to fight it, trust me. But …” He inhaled deeply, turning his gaze back to the ceiling before exhaling through his teeth.

“But you won.”

They laid there, not moving, barely breathing, for several minutes, Andrian not sure what she would do next. He nearly leaped out of his skin when he felt fingertips brush down his temple, stroking to his chin before gripping tightly and turning his head to face hers.

“Don’t shut me out, Andrian. Not now.” A passionate, fierce demand.

He closed his eyes at her words. This woman, this creature who’d melted the ice that had long dwelt within him in only a few short weeks, had no idea how much danger she’d put herself in.

It was the reason a part of him still hated her. Would always hate her.

He wanted more than anything to keep her safe, and yet she was constantly pushing them towards a path that would only lead to her demise.

When he opened his eyes, his resolve was firm.

“I can give you only this. This, right now, in private, with no one anywhere near except your Armature. But don’t ask anything more of me,nio. Andespeciallydon’t ask me to make the bond. I can’t … I just … at least, not yet.”

He was scared that those green eyes would pierce through his half-truths and see what had been etched into his soul at the age of ten.

“Will you ever take it?”

Her gaze was searching as he answered as truthfully as he could.

“I don’t know.”

She nodded once before dropping her hand from his chin. She was about to roll away from him, off the bed, when his hand shot out and grabbed hers. She turned back to him, a question in her eyes.

“You have nowhere to be today. Sebastian and the others are still securing your rooms and investigating the Uroboros, and until they’re absolutely confident in your safety, they want you to stay secure. You can check with them if you like.”

Her gaze turned inquisitive. “How doyouknow all of that?”

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