Page 144 of Until the Stars Fall

“She deserves—”

“Why?” I asked sharply, flashing my attention back to him. “So I can trick her—guilt her—into being with me instead? I want her to choose me because she loves me, not because of some stars-damned bond. And yes, I know, she could decide to deny the bond, but it’s better this way.”

“Better for whom, Connor?” he asked, but I had no answer to offer. He sighed deeply and continued. “Look, I know the pain of losing a mate, of having the other half of your heart stolen, of drowning in unbearable loneliness. But it was worth it for the joy I shared with your mother—a joy you could have with Lieke, if you give her the chance.”

A chance.

She’d already rejected me once, and though I’d survived battle after battle and attack after attack, facing that pain again…

I sucked in a deep breath and forced myself to remember how Lieke had stood in that training ring, staring at me as I asked her about Brennan. I recalled the emotions that had swarmed me in that moment as if they were my own: love, guilt, regret, fear…hope.

I lifted my eyes to my father’s once more. “So your answer is no then?”

He frowned, genuine sadness written across his face. “I will allow Brennan to back out of the engagement if he wants to, butonlyif Lieke agrees to this after you’ve told her the truth. She deserves to know.”

I couldn’t talk to Lieke yet, not without ensuring Brennan was going to step up and be there for her. As soon as I knocked on his door, my stomach sank at the realization she could very well be here with him.

The door opened, and Brennan—standing alone—looked me up and down. “Hello, brother. What happened to you?” I waved away his question and stepped past him into his room. “Come on in,” he said, already closing the door behind me.

“We need to talk, Brennan.” I pivoted on my heel in the middle of his living room and shoved my hands in my pockets.

“Oh no,” he said, his mouth pulling down into an exaggerated frown. “Don’t say it. You’re breaking up with me. It’s you, not me. Is that it?”

In silence I stared at him until he finally shrugged. I pushed the words out before I could change my mind. “I’m letting you off the hook. You don’t have to marry Calla.”

Brennan lowered his brows and regarded me skeptically for a moment, then scratched casually at his chin. “Is that so? And what about the alliance?”

“We’ll secure it another way,” I said, trying to get my pounding heartbeat under control before he could comment on it.

“And how’s that? Areyougoing to marry the princess?” He smirked, but it soon melted away into a solemn expression when I didn’t answer. “You can’t be serious, Connor. What about Lieke?”

Hearing her name on his lips grated on my nerves, but somehow I managed to utter, “She’s all yours.”

Stars, it hurt to say. Like piercing my throat with a hot iron. My breath shuddered, and I tried to cover it up with a feigned cough. Brennan studied me carefully. I wanted to shake him, tell him to just accept this and be good to her.

“What makes you think she wants me?” he asked finally, crossing his arms and tilting his chin up.

“She’s always wanted you, Brennan. Still does. I spoke with her yesterday, and she chose you.” Each word sliced at my heart, like I was physically cutting away pieces of it and dropping them at my ungrateful brother’s feet.

“And you’re okay with this?”

“Of course I am,” I lied. “It was my idea. Why wouldn’t I be?” I shrugged, but the gesture was stiff, forced.

“Oh, I don’t know, brother. Maybe because she’s your mate.” His eyes widened in challenge, and I stepped back as if he’d shoved me.

It was one thing to have our father recognize the bond, but Brennan?

“Come on,” he said. “I knew as soon as you both came home. She smells just like you—definitely one of the weirder signs of the bond, I swear. Honestly, it was getting harder and harder to sit so close to her.”

“It doesn’t matter. She loves you, not me.”

Brennan scoffed loudly. “You think she still loves me?” I nodded, cringing at having to admit it. “Do you remember when we were younger, and Mother would go on and on about how she hoped we’d find our mates, just as she and father had found each other? Remember what she said about it?”

I tried to recall, but my mind was a chaotic mess.

Brennan continued. “After the bond, any feelings you hold for someone else are overshadowed. Lieke might still care for me, but she doesn’t love me anymore. Not like she used to. She’s notall mine. She’s yours, and you are hers, so stop being a fucking martyr, and let yourself have this!”

My chin dropped to my chest, and I stared at my feet as I bit the inside of my lip. Lifting my hand to my neck, I tried to rub away the tension. Could I really do this?

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