Page 159 of Until the Stars Fall

“With the help of Matthias”—she gulped and cleared her throat quietly—“and Minerva.”

Ice filled my heart. Clenching my hands tightly and scowling, I bit down on the inside of my cheek to prevent my tongue from unleashing my anger on my mate. I might have despised the mage, but I couldn’t fault Lieke for doing whatever she needed to save me.

“The price? What did she demand?” I asked quietly.

Curiosity sparked in her eyes. “You knew there’d be a cost?”

“All magic comes at a price, Sapphire,” I said. “I never knew what she required of my father—only that her price was more than he could pay and she refused to accept anything else.”

“My mother’s necklace,” she said, and now it was my turn to eye her curiously. She answered my unspoken question. “Turns out it’s some powerful stone or something.”

A powerful stone.

In the hands of a mage.

Dread crowded my heart as I pondered what Minerva could achieve with such an object in her possession.

And Lieke had simply handed it over? Had she not thought about the consequences? But even as I contemplated that, I knew I’d have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed.

Releasing a deep sigh, I whispered, “I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner.”

“Yes, you should have.” She picked something off my sleeve and flicked it away as she asked, “Why didn’t you?”

“Do you remember when you first woke up in this room?” She nodded once. “You nearly chose death over pretending to be my betrothed.”

“To be fair, Wolfie, you weren’t my favorite fae back then.”

I reached for her hand and interlaced our fingers. “You are independent, stubborn—”

“Is this your idea of flattery?” she asked, and I laughed lightly.

“Those aren’t bad qualities. I forced you into our engagement—”

“Not forced,” she corrected. “I could have chosen death, remember?”

“Regardless, I didn’t want you to feel forced to choose me. I wanted you to choose me because you wanted me and not because of some bond or some sense of obligation. I was going to tell you, but then—”

“I chose Brennan,” she said quietly.

My chest caved. Even having her here with me, knowing she’d saved me, I realized that didn’t mean she was choosing me.

“Why? Why did you?” I asked, although I was unsure I wanted to hear the answer.

“The rebels threatened me. They told me if I didn’t stop Brennan’s marriage, they were going to kill one of you.”

“You could have told me—”

“No,” Lieke said. “They would have found out.”

Fear had forced her to lie, just as it had convinced me to hide from her. It was understandable and to be expected, I supposed, but one thing still bothered me.

My heart thumped erratically, and I pulled in a shaky breath.

She smiled. “You don’t need to be nervous with me, Wolfie.”

“How do you know I’m nervous?”

“Your father told me a lot about this bond of ours,” she explained. Of course she would be able to sense my emotions even in these dreams.

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