Page 369 of Once Upon a Fable

Taut silence stretched between us again. If I hadn’t known this man for years—if I hadn’t hugged him in the dark and shared promises on a daily basis, I would’ve launched myself at him again.

The smug coldness in his bi-colored stare. The arctic chill that never seemed to leave. There was nothing left inside him. Nothing soft. Nothing human. We’d survived similar ordeals, yet while I struggled with sanity because I still had a heart inside me, Jareth had nothing.

He was a void. A shell of who he’d once been.

Leaning back, ice slipped down my spine. “If you don’t care, why the hell did you come back here?”

“Because I made a promise.”

“Most of our promises are broken.”

“Yeah well, not this one.”

I ran a hand through my hair, swallowing hard as pressure built in my skull. I hoped Gemma had enough painkillers to go around because I’d long ago used up Fable’s supplies.

She’d been generous since I’d fallen off the cliff, gifting me pills when my headache grew too bad, but now I needed an entire handful. My headache needed to piss off so I could figure this shit out.

Jareth’s arrival wasn’t a coincidence, was it? His appearance was suspicious.

I didn’t like it.

“Look, let’s start somewhere easier,” Jareth muttered. “I’ll tell you what I can, okay? And then you...do the same.”

I nodded stiffly. “Fine.”

“Okay then.” He sat taller, eyeing me carefully. “Who’s the girl?”

Everything inside me grew claws. I struggled not to snarl, drowning beneath overprotectiveness. “Someone whose life means more to me than any other. So I suggest, if you want to keep breathing, that you treat her well.”

He nodded as if my declaration that Gemma came before anyone else made total sense. “I figured as much. The way you watch her...” He shrugged. “You gave us your pain to keep us safe, but her? You’d giveher your life.”

I clenched my hands, relishing in the stings from my cuts. Was that true? Had I truly allowed myself to put her first in everything? I’d felt it when I’d kissed her earlier tonight. I’d suffocated beneath it as I’d run from hurting her. But I didn’t know if I’d be strong enough to stay committed.

It’d taken literally everything I had to love my family, and look where that got me. If I allowed myself to care for Gemma that deeply, that was it. My life was no longer mine.

Ever again.

Love came with consequences. So many fucking consequences. The main one being...I still had to set her free. And how the fuck was I supposed to survive when I said goodbye?

Jareth interrupted my chaotic thoughts. “Don’t kill me until you hear the full story, but...is her name Gemma Ashford?”

A low growl started in the back of my throat. “How? How the fuck do you know her name?”

Jareth snickered. “Found a Jeep at the top of the ridge. Documents inside were addressed to a Gemma Ashford.”

“You went rifling through her stuff?”

“Hey.” He held up a hand with mock hurt. “It was an abandoned vehicle. I needed somewhere to sleep. No keys, though.”

I smiled icily. “I know. I threw them over the cliff in a storm. They’ll be buried beneath dirt by now.”

“And you did that why?”

If Jareth was any other man, I wouldn’t answer. But...we had history. If anyone would understand, it was him. He’d understand, possibly even more so than any of our family. “She was trying to leave me.”

He paused, his bi-colored eyes darting over mine. “So...let me figure this out. She found you. You kept her. You used her. Then she tried to run?” His face suddenly broke into a savage smile. “So, youdidget retribution. You tasted power instead of helplessness.”

“I’m not proud of it.”