Page 186 of Cursed Evermore
“Then stop acting like one.”
“I'm not. I know I shouldn't have gone to the caves, but I meant no harm. It doesn't mean you have to be an asshole to me.”
“Something could have happened to you.”
“I know, but nothing happened.”
“That doesn't make it okay.”
“Perhaps if you didn't ignore me and let me know what was going on, I wouldn't have gone there.” I hated the break in my voice betraying my emotions again.
“That's not an excuse,” he sneered. “You could have fucking died, then all my plans to find my ring would have gone to hell.”
His words shattered something inside me. Of course.The ring.
He was worried about the ring. Not me. Just his precious ring. What remained of my hope withered and foolish disappointment settled in my stomach, cold and bitter. I thought of everything else he'd done for me and realized the harsh truth. His panic, that moment of tenderness, and even saving me on the ship. It all came down to the ring.
The hurt that lanced through my chest was sharper than I expected, and my former desolation returned a hundredfold.
I'd had enough and was done talking, so I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm.
“I'm not done talking to you.”
“I'm done listening.” I kept my tone free of emotion even though tears stung the backs of my eyes.
“No, you aren't. I have plenty more to say.”
“Well, you can save it. I understand perfectly. All you care about is your damn ring. What more is there to say?”
“Of course, I care about the ring. Everything I've done was about finding the ring. So I won't allow you and your foolishness to fuck it up.” More truth that cut me deeply spewed from his lips. “What in the hells do you think is happening here?”
“Nothing!” I spat out the word with deliberate venom. “Absolutely nothing,Lord Nightblade.” I'd never used his formal title before, and we both felt the sting of it and the distance it created between us.
Wolfe's face went carefully blank, but I caught the way his hands clenched at his sides. His jaw tightened, and those dark eyes flashed with something raw—pain maybe, or recognition of the wall I'd just thrown up between us.
Good. If the devil could actually feel pain, let him feel as foolish as I did for reading more into our dynamic than what was ever there.
A thousand things flickered in his eyes, and for one shattered moment, he looked like he might speak and remind me that he was Wolfe to me, not Lord Nightblade. But he didn't. He chose silence instead.
He took a step back and flicked his thumb over one of the warrior tattoos on his wrist. A second later, Garrick appeared before us as if he'd stepped out of thin air.
“What happened?” he asked, looking from me to Wolfe, his eyes narrowing with confusion.
Wolfe gave him a cold smile that held no humor. “Where were you?”
Garrick stiffened at his tone, and I knew that had Wolfe been anyone else, he wouldn't have gotten away with talking to him in such a manner. “Taking care of the elk. They've come down with rsusk sickness. I was healing them.”
Wolfe smirked, his eyes darkening. “Nice save.” He pointed to me. “Take her inside and make sure she doesn't sneak into the cavesagain.”
Garrick snapped his gaze to me, but I didn't look at him. I was still hollow from my awful exchange with Wolfe.
“Come along, Elariya.” Garrick waved his hand, motioning me forward.
I moved, walking ahead of him. He fell in step with me.
Wolfe stayed where he was. His eyes bore into me, but I didn't look back. There was no reason to.
As I walked away from him, a hollow ache formed in my chest as the truth crystallized. I was nothing more than a means to an end, so I was always the fool.
