Page 185 of Filthy Royal

Damien was soothing her—protecting her, as always—but she could hear the rough, jagged edges of his voice. She suspected it hurt him to see her this way almost as much as it did her.

And she hated herself for that even more.

She kept her eyes closed, concentrating on breathing deeply, focusing on ensuring her gift didn’t go off again as he snatched up the supply bag, which had miraculously avoided falling into the chasm, and carried her and it down the tunnel.

Soon, thankfully, it became clear her gift had once again burned out.

The agony had lessened too. Soon, she suspected, it would become nothing more than a dull ache. The physical hurt, that was. The void in her chest, the downfall of her hopes, they would never leave.

“We’ll be safe here. I know it’s damp and a little muddy, but all aqueduct shafts built by your ancestors are, and the entrance to this one’s next to impossible to see from the main tunnel.” She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before she found herself floating downward, cradled gently as Damien settled her on his lap with such care that she could barely breathe. “Hells, if we’re lucky, they’ll think we fell down that hole too. Even better, it’ll take time for them to dig the bodies out, which gives us some serious breathing space.”

She flinched, and he quieted for a heartbeat.

“This is not on you, Scarlett.” His voice was rough when he spoke again. “You weren’t the one with a laser. You did what you had to do to survive.”

She’d tried telling herself that too.

But that excuse wouldn’t work when it was Damien, one of his family members, Luc, or Kadon down in that kind of tomb.

She took a deep breath, then opened her eyes and curled her fingers into his shirt. “You have to let me go.”

Damien stiffened beneath her. “What did you just say?”

30

SCARLETT

Scarlett’s voice shook, but she forced herself to keep talking. Forced herself to rise from the safety of Damien’s lap on shaky legs and stand on her own. “You have to let Darvish’s guards take me to him.”

Damien shot up right behind her, the fury on his face cutting deep, but she knew she had to stay strong. For him.

“You have to let me take Darvish out before I destroy you or someone else we care about. I couldn’t bear that.” She turned away, her movements sluggish as the damp dirt clung to her slippers.

A hand grasped her wrist and spun her back around. “No.”

“I warned you.” She tugged at Damien’s hold. “I warned you what would happen. Now it’s clear. You need to let me go. We’re not even fated mates anymore. You. Have. To. Let. Me. Go!”

“How are you feeling?”

“Excuse me?” She jerked in his hold, his calm in the face of her high emotion not what she’d expected. “Damien, did you hear me? I need you to let me go.” Her panic grew. What if her gift came back now? What if it erupted, and the ceiling crumbled, or the ground opened and took the male she loved above all else?

“I asked you a damned question, Omega.” Damien corralled her backward. “How’s your pain?”

“O-okay.”

“Okay, as in you’re still in a lot of pain but pretending to be fine as usual? Or okay, as in the pain’s gone?”

Her spine hit the wall, the dampness immediately seeping past the protective layer of Damien’s shirt and into her skin. “The pain’s lessening. The worst of it’s already gone.” It was the truth. The agony in the moment had been excruciating, but it had burned out. Now it was only a little above her usual soreness and nothing compared to the anguish she felt every time she thought of that abyss and how close it had come to swallowing Damien. “Please!” She peered up at him. “It doesn’t matter. We need to focus on more important issues.”

“More important?” His voice grew even tighter.

“My gift’s dormant now, but it will roar to life again. It will return, and I don’t want you anywhere near it when it does.”

He offered no response.

She had no idea what he saw, but she wasn’t hiding. She was crushed. Terrified. And one hundred percent determined to go because she would doanythingto protect him.

“I’m tainted, Damien. Broken.” The anguished words tore from her. “I-I thought maybe I could be something better with you. That my colors would return, and it could be like before, but… it can’t. I’m too far gone. Too much of a monster, the darkness too deep inside me. You have to let me go.”

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