Page 80 of Heart of the Rebel Mate

I glare at him. "You're really going to stand here and pretend you don't see the risk? That Isla isn't still a liability?"

He steps closer.

I don't move back.

"Of course she's a liability," he says, voice low. "But I'm not an idiot, Elara. You think I'm just blindly trusting her? That I'm not watching her every move?"

Something in his tone sends a shiver down my spine.

I look away, but he isn't done.

"Or is this not about Isla at all?" he asks, voice quieter now, almost searching. "Is this about something else?"

My throat tightens.

I force myself to scoff. "Don't flatter yourself."

Adrian's jaw ticks. He studies me, and for a moment, neither of us speaks.

The mate bond hums between us, a thread of tension just beneath the surface.

His gaze flickers to my lips. Just for a second.

Then he steps back, exhaling through his nose. "I don't know what's going on with you. But whatever it is, figure it out before it gets in the way."

Something twists inside me.

I want to snap at him. I want to tell him he doesn't get to command me.

But I say nothing.

Instead, I turn sharply and walk away.

I don't look back.

But I feel his gaze on me the whole way down the corridor.

CHAPTER 22

ADRIAN

The war room is a mess.

The final stages of the summit plan take shape and everyone is on edge. I have been drowning in anxiety ever since we found out the Council could just release a gas and stop this rebellion in its tracks. Is that why they haven't cracked down on us? Is that why rescuing Elara seemed too easy? Because they know they can stop all of this with a snap of their fingers? That's a disconcerting thought.

We don't have time for personal disputes, but that hasn't stopped Cassian from making a spectacle of his.

"You're hesitating," Cassian snaps, shoving a hand through his hair. His usually collected demeanor is slipping, irritation bleeding into his expression. "If we strike hard and fast, we control the tempo. The longer we wait, the more time they have to reinforce security."

I exhale slowly, keeping my tone measured. "You're not thinking about the aftermath. If we go in that aggressively, the Council will retaliate before we have a foothold. You want us to be the ones on the defensive?"

Cassian scoffs, shifting his weight onto one foot. His impatience is clear, but more than that, his disdain for restraint. "I'd rather take the risk than sit around pretending we have control we don't."

Something in his tone sets my teeth on edge.

"You're not taking the risk," I say, voice low. "We are."

The room goes quiet.

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