Page 56 of Deception

“You need to deal with whatever your issue is,” he bellows, his rage blazing through his veins. Uncaring if anyone overhears.

“My issue?” I ask, blinking at him in confusion, my brows creasing at his statement, trying to reconcile what just happened with any issue I may have.

“With Liv, with our mate,” he clarifies, his fingers loosening around my shirt and dropping me down to the dirt with a look of disgust. I stumble, and barely catch myself in time, my hand splaying across the warm stone to keep me from falling on my face.

“Don't you see how much pain she's in every time you casually dismiss her? How about every time she looks to you, and you're no longer there? Of course you don't.” He huffs out a breath of annoyance, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“Do I need to remind you none of this would have happened if you hadn't lied to her in the first place?” I throw back, heat creeping up my neck to my cheeks. I'm not sure if it’s from anger or embarrassment. The two mix together in my neck and tighten around me like an invisible noose.

“No, you don't,” he grumbles, having the decency to look a little chagrined. “But what is done is done. You have no clue if she still would have taken off without the lie or not. You have no idea if this needed to happen. The fates have a funny way of sorting themselves out.”

I pause, not having thought about that before. Was this all as preordained as the mate pull? I shake my head, not allowing his words to sway me.

“Then perhaps my stepping back is how fate planned it?” I cross my arms over my chest stubbornly, leaning back against the stone wall.

“No.” He doesn't even pause, spitting out the word with distaste. “You stepping back has everything to do with how stubborn you are, but no more. Figure it out, because I won't allow you to continue hurting my mate.”

My jaw drops at his statement, but he doesn't wait for a response. Instead, he takes a single step back, his body breaking apart and dissipating into the silent wind. Leaving me floundering as I try to piece together everything that's happened today.

The telltale sound of footsteps come just at the edge of the field, and I pull my powers around me, hiding myself from their view. I slide along the corner, needing a moment of reprieve before I face the others again. My thoughts and feelings are a jumbled mess right now, and I need to sort them out. Maximus is right. It's about time that I straighten everything out with Liv. I've wanted to for a while but my mind keeps snagging on how exactly to do so.

I sink down to the ground, my back supported against the stone wall, now around the corner, giving me a bit of room to breathe without the hordes of chattering students.

I let loose a long sigh, my mind running over the trials again. Replaying those final two matches. The horror and helplessness I felt seeing my mate pinned down on the ground, obviously in distress. We, of course, didn't know at the time, but rage threatened to overtake me when Kyros projected to us that the girl had used her power of lightning on Liv.

Then seeing her take those hits in the last round, seeing the sharp edge of the blade seconds before she kicked it from his palm. Bile rises in my throat at the mere memory, my breath stuttering in my chest. My fingers itch to finish what she started. The man didn’t deserve to draw in a breath, regardless of how pained they must be right now with however many broken ribs she left him with.

My thoughts move back to the pain and loss I felt when she left, and I rub my chest, the deep ache returning. How are we supposed to go back to the way things were between us? The easy smiles, the teasing. I know my feelings are true, ever since I saw her eyes light up looking out at the sea in Santorini, the breeze ruffling her dark-brown hair, the pure joy brightening her soul, I knew I loved her, and I would never cease loving her.

How am I supposed to knowherfeelings are true, though? I thought I could see the depth of her feelings for me, could even see her struggling to hold the words back. So I waited for her to be ready to share that with me despite my urge to tell her how I felt—still feel. How am I supposed to trust that she won't up and leave us the next time things get hard?

I exhale a sigh of exhaustion, scrubbing a hand over my face. That's the thing about love. It has the power to either bring about immense joy and abundance, or rip your still-beating heart out from your chest, crushing it in the grip of despair.

I push that thought from my mind, knowing it will only lead me down a dark path I've spiraled about countless times for the past month. Instead, I mull Maximus’ words over again. His insistence to put her fleeing behind me. But he wasn't there that day, he didn't see that man—

He may not have been there, but he was the most resistant to their bond, and now—now they're where I wish the two of us could be. Despite what I've been trying to convince myself for the past few weeks, I have seen the pained looks cross her face at my dismissal, and every time I feel that echo of pain closing around my heart with a vise-like grip. I've seen her grow since that moment in Mexico, seen her fight for us just as hard as we have fought for her—because hell, if she was going to run again, today would have been the perfect time for it. Even I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had. She could’ve kept that backup plan a secret only she and her father shared. Instead, she told us all, made sure we understood she would not be running from us, and I just brushed her efforts off, selfishly stomping up the stairs like a petulant child at the mention of her leaving again.

With that thought, I pull myself to my feet, brushing off the dirt that clings to my clothes as though I’m dusting off the last vestiges of my hurt and betrayal. Despite how much I want to go to her at this moment, there’s a month’s worth of distance sitting between us. I’ll need to take this one step at a time, but I’m ready to take that first step.

I wrap my power around me, and my body breaks apart in the breeze and reappears in front of the manor. I draw in a deep breath, steeling myself for what I need to do next, the first steps towards repairing what has broken between us, and helping to keep my angel safe.

I stride towards the door, letting each step bolster my resolve. Opening the door, I find the others grouped around the sitting room. As I enter, their words cut off abruptly, taking defensive stances as though someone else would be walking through those doors. Shutting the door firmly behind me, I march over to Liv, perched on the arm of the sofa. Maximus stands beside her as though he’s her own personal guard, and scowls in my direction, his eyes silently warning me.

“You're training with me tomorrow. You'll need to learn how to use my powers, and the sooner the better,” I declare, not leaving any room for argument. My gaze roves over her, examining her for any signs of injury, but of course I find none since Kyros would have already examined her fully. Though my eyes catch on her torn and dirty training clothes, and I grit my teeth against the anger that bubbles up within me.

She nods in acceptance, her brows knitting together as though attempting to ascertain where this demand is coming from. With that, I turn on my heel, catching Maximus' approving nod, and take the stairs two at a time, needing to get out of there as fast as possible before I crush the infuriating woman to my chest and say the hell to moving slowly.

I sigh in relief when I make it to my room and close the door behind me, letting the cool wood pressing against my back soothe me. I’ll take this one step at a time. Perhaps Maximus was right, and these blows were dealt to us by fate in the hopes of strengthening us for whatever may come.

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