Page 34 of Firedrake Betrayal
“And you’re sure there’s no way you can undo this…thing?” I gesture vaguely toward my throat. There’s no sign of the bite, and I don’t feel any differently. Yet.
Dominik arches a dark brow. Now he’s not hiding most of his face beneath a thick beard, his arrogance is front and center. If I’d seen that arrogance in the compound, maybe I wouldn’t have been so eager to trust him. And Ihadtrusted him.
I won’t makethatmistake again.
“The bond is permanent.”
“But there must be some way to break it,” I say, frowning.
“Of course.”
I brighten.
“Death. Yours or mine.”
I deflate, turning to peer out of the window as the plane starts its descent. “It won’t be me who dies,” I mutter.
I haven’t let myself think of the possibility that Dad is dead. He hurt me in a way I’m not sure I’m even close to forgiving, but he’s my dad, and I don’t want to lose him. And because I know him, even after the six years we were apart, I know exactly what he’s liable to do when I tell him what Dominik did.
“My dad is going to kill you when he learns about all of this.”
“He will learn to accept us.”
My eyes narrow as I twist to face him. “Us?”
He smiles. “You are the mother of my child. My?—”
“Please don’t say the other thing. I’m trying to forget it,” I interrupt. “You should let me do the talking when we get there. It probably won’t be enough to save your life, but maybe it might.”
His smile widens. “You sound concerned.”
“I am concerned that my child doesn’t grow up without their father. I lost my mom and…” My eyes burn and I swallow hard. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. No one should ever know what it feels like to lose a person they love.”
Even after I closed the door in his face last night, he didn’t immediately move away. As if he suspected I would change my mind if he hung around long enough.
I did not change my mind. And I won’t. Whatever ‘us’ Dominik thinks we have is not there. And it never will be.
His smile dims. “You will not lose me. Our child will not lose me.”
“That’s not a promise you can make,” I say. “I guess if no one kills you, we can talk about it after we leave Wilkerson.”
“And what will happen in Wilkerson?”
“We deal with Atticus and make sure my dad is okay.”
His gaze sharpens. “And thosefriendsof yours?”
“They are not my friends.”
He doesn’t blink. “Do you think they will want you when you’re carrying my child?”
The plane shakes slightly as the tires hit the tarmac, rocking us so our shoulders bump.
I don’t look away from Dominik, and I have to fight the urge to wrench open my window and shove him outside. He won’t fit. That doesn’t mean I don’t still want to do it.
“You’re not a nice person at all, are you?”
What I mean is, whatever it is I thought I saw in you, I was an idiot to see it, because as blows go, this one strikes true, and it strikes hard.
