Page 249 of Scarlet Wars
Even though that man had been worth every risk, every reckless second, every stolen moment, every breath, I knew it was time for me to pay the price for all of it, and that price could never be him.
Hewas the one price I could never pay.
So I turned to the man I loved with more than my heart, more than my magic, more than my fuckinglife.
“James and I will form the bond,” I said, forcing the words out even as they tore something inside me. “And you and I are over.”
Caden’s voice dropped to something that shook the godsdamn air. “The hell we are.”
“Caden,” I said, swallowing hard. “You heard him. They won’t stop. They’ll kill Nino. They’ll kill you next, they’ll kill everyone. I have to do this.”
His jaw flexed. “And I said no.”
“You don’t get a vote.”
“The fuck I don’t. You don’t get to throw us away because they’re pointing guns at people.”
“This isn’t about throwing us away,” I whispered as my entire body trembled with emotion. “This is about making sureyoulive.”
“I don’t care about me.”
“Well, I do!” The words ripped out of me, and his body jerked like it had taken a hit.
But he still shook his head.
Still refused to break.
Still stood his ground like the stubborn, amazing man he was.
“You’re not doing this,” he said. “I won’t let you.”
“You don’t have a choice,” I said, more clearly now. “This isn’t a negotiation. You think I want this? You think I want to break us? I’m doing what I have?—”
“No,” he snapped. “I won’t let them force you into this.”
Tears burned in my eyes. “Caden. Please. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
I had to do this.
Gods, I had to.
“They killed Saoirse,” I whimpered, the words shaking out of me like they were tearing skin on the way out. “They got through the Layers at Crown somehow. They broke through every wall we built. What’s to stop them from coming after you next?”
“Let them try,” he said instantly, without even a heartbeat of hesitation, and terrifyingly sincere.
I shook my head, feeling something inside me tear clean in half. “I can’t riskyou. I won’t.”
“You don’t get to decide?—”
“Colt.”
Just his last name. But it broke both of us.
I stepped back from him, and his entire face collapsed, not visibly, not dramatically, but in the tiny, devastating ways only someone who loved him would notice.
“No,” he breathed, like he was watching me walk into a fire.
“Yes,” I whispered, my voice trembling so hard I could barely force the words out. “You need to go.”
