Page 30 of Queen of Darkness
“If you make me run and hide for the rest of my life, youwilllose me,” I countered gently. “Ihaveto do this, Aaron. I have to. I need you to understand that.”
“I do,” he said gently, surprising me. He must have sensed just how stunned I was because he snorted gently and tossed his head over his shoulder. “Fred, um, talked some sense into me.”
“It wasn’t easy.”
I grinned past Aaron to Fred. “I know.”
Aaron harrumphed but refocused on me, his expression turning serious. “Fred says you found a way to revoke the Blood Letter?”
“Yeah,” I said before telling him.
He went still, muscles in his jaw clenching as I laid out the requirements.
“I hate it,” he said at long last.
There was probably a lot more he wanted to say. But it meant more to me than he might ever know that he didn’t immediately jump to telling menotto do it. He was more than allowed to dislike it. Nor was he alone in that. I hated it, but I also didn’t see another option.
“Yeah,” I said, patting his chest. “I know. Me, too.”
“Is there another way?”
Credit to Fred. Whatever sense he talked into Aaron in the short time he’d been gone had worked. Aaron wasn’t telling me I couldn’t do it. He wanted to know if there was anything else we could do instead. It wasn’t a majorly different approach, but it was enough.
“I don’t think so,” I said heavily.
“Fine. Then, we do it here. Where I can protect you while you recover,” he said, his eyes fiery with stubborn determination.
This time there would be no arguing with him. Which was okay. I wasn’t feeling particularly argumentative on the subject either. Going to a hospital was certainly out of the question. I couldn’t be around so much blood and vulnerable people. The darkness in me would only see them as prey.
“Okay,” I said. “We’ll do it here. In your home.”
Aaron tilted his head at me. “There was a point behind those words, wasn’t there?”
“I need you to tell me the truth,” I said, matching his stare.
“Always,” he promised.
“What happened here?” I whispered. “Who are you really? Tell me everything.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Everything?”
I laid a hand on his chest without thinking, trying to push my way past his defenses. “Aaron, I know nothing about you. About your past. How can I be with you when I don’t know you?”
“You know me,” he said defensively. “You know who I am.”
“I know who you arenow. I don’t know what made you what you are. I want to understand you. I want to know you. Therealyou.”
“This is the real me. I am who I want to be. I’m not pretending to be someone else.”
My eyes bore into his. “You know what I mean. I want to know your history. How you became the person you are today. It’s obvious you weren’t always like this.”
“No,” he said heavily. “You’re right. I wasn’t.”
“I’ll just see myself out,” Fred called as he disappeared down a hallway.
I shook my head, smiling at his candor and terrible timing. Or was it perfect timing? Either way, it didn’t matter. The two of us were alone now, and I’d broached the subject. It was time to see what came of it.
