Page 102 of Heir of Illusion

I stay quiet, unable to do anything as he uncovers my greatest shame.

“That’s why you refuse to believe it’s a part of you?” he presses, twisting in the sand to face me. “Because of him. And that’s why you’ve kept your ability a secret. So Baylor won’t find out.”

I nod.

“Come to the Fifth Isle,” he begs, leaning forward. “I’ll hide you from him.”

The request sends a wave of shock radiating through me. I turn to face him fully, crossing my legs beneath me.

“Why would you do that?” I ask.

He shifts uncomfortably but doesn’t answer.

“Never mind.” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I can’t leave.”

“You can!” He grabs my shoulders with his gloved hands, and the contact startles me. “Let me help you. Why won’t you just leave?”

“Because of this!” I pull at the collar, wincing as the movement reopens a few of my cuts. “It’s not that Iwon’tleave. Ican’t!”

I know I’m saying more than I should, but I can’t stop myself as the confessions keep pouring out of me.

“No matter how much I hate him, no matter how much I want to be rid of him forever, this fucking noose around my neck keeps me tethered to his side.”

His mouth gapes open as his gaze furiously flits back and forth between the collar and my eyes.

“That’s why you never take it off?” he murmurs softly, almost as if he’s speaking to himself instead of me.

My chin dips as I glance down at my hands twisting in my lap. “He’s the only one who can remove it.”

“Fine,” he says a moment later, his tone resolved. “Then we’ll get rid of the problem.”

My heart flutters at the way he says “we,” as if him helping me is a foregone conclusion. But I push those useless thoughts away, trying to focus on the important part of his sentence. “I told you, he’s the only one who can rem?—”

“I’m not talking about the collar,” he interrupts. “I’m talking about Baylor.”

My head tilts. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’ll kill the king.”

Air catches in my lungs. I pull my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them as I shake my head. “You can’t do that. Promise me you won’t kill him.”

“Why?” he demands, pushing himself to his feet. “Give me one good reason I can’t kill that bastard.”

“Because the enchantment won’t fade with his death,” I whisper. “If he dies before the collar is removed, it will be activated.”

“What happens then?”

I meet his gaze. “It tightens around my throat, cutting off my air so I can’t breathe. And if he’s dead, it won’t stop like it usually does. It will keep going until…”

His eyes widen with horror. “Until you suffocate.”

Unable to respond, I turn my head away from him, leaning forward to rest my cheek against my knee. A tear leaks from my eye, tickling me as it trails down my face.

“Like it usually does?” he asks slowly. “That’s what you said.”

I don’t respond.

“He’s done this to you before,” he says, a statement of fact rather than a question.

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