Chapter 65
I straighten my spine. “Of course you do. I just told everyone. I’m going to lure Jarek away from the others, incapacitate him, and destroy the tablet.”
He speaks, low and lethal. “You know that isn’t your plan.”
I look away. “What makes you say that?”
He stares skyward in frustration, like he can’t believe he has to explain it to me.
“You sneak out to treat the elderly even though it could get you Harvested.” He doesn’t give me a chance to respond.
“When Oscar was about to get a lashing the other night because of your wedding dress, you protected him without a thought. Same thing when Leonidas was attacking Eero.”
My mouth goes dry.
He closes the distance between us. His nearness awakens goosebumps along my flesh.
“And weren’t you just now begging to run back and throw yourself into a fight you stood no chance of surviving?
That’s not just Apothecary training.” He settles a finger in my open collar, above my heart.
It’s the lightest of touches, but I shiver as his heat radiates across my skin. “That’s you. That’s in there.”
He’s quiet for a moment, his finger still resting on me.
“And that’s why I know,” he continues, his voice raw, “that if against all odds you manage to drug my father and take the tablet, after you destroy it, you’ll charge the Verdant Beast, revealing the truth about the Valley to its citizens and sacrificing your life for the greater good.
Only,” he says softly, “I can’t let you do that. ”
My blood runs cold because he’s right.
I realized when I saw Guardians attacking the handful of rebel villagers that our only chance at survival lies in fighting together, and we’ll only do that if we have a common enemy larger than the one Jarek has created.
Leo nearly throwing Eero to the Beast is what gave me the idea.
I blink back tears. I’m so sorry, sweet brother, but I can’t come looking for you.
There’s something I must do instead. We devoted our lives to saving others. Apothecaries to the end.
But I can’t confess this to Gryphon, can’t give him a chance to slow me down, so I slap his hand away. “That’s completely ridiculous. Besides, who are you to tell me what I can and can’t do?”
Hurt blooms on his cheeks, but then something shifts beneath his skin and his jaw hardens. “I’m not asking, Rose.” His voice is deep and menacing. “If I have to restrain you, I will.”
My mouth curls. “Good luck trying, you big bully. It’s only tonight that you even came close to standing up to your father, and what a poor attempt it was.” I aim to make him hate me. Surely all the resentment he’s banked over the years is still there, simmering just below the surface.
The pulse in his forehead throbs. “Don’t forget that I laid you flat dozens of times in training, and I can do it again.”
I lean in, close enough to smell his scent of pine and musk. “I don’t even like you, Gryphon Tzu. I told the truth after the betrothal ceremony. It was Nikola I loved all along.”
He blinks, searching my face with a mixture of fury and desperation that I don’t understand. Or maybe I do. Our souls recognized each other when we were children.
Slowly, Gryphon’s gaze dips to my lips. Fireflies spark to life beneath my skin.
Before I can stop myself—before I even want to—we crash together, all heat and hunger and impossible need. I grab hold of his neck, clinging to the strength coiled beneath his skin. The kiss isn’t soft. It’s wildfire, a battlefield, pain braided with pleasure until I can’t tell the difference.
And then too soon, it’s over. Gryphon releases me.
“Don’t ever say that again,” he rumbles.
I stare into his beautiful eyes, at his strong nose, at those soft lips that just bruised mine. “Gryphon.” It’s the only word I can manage.
“I see you, Rose,” he says carefully, gently brushing a lock of hair away from the birthmark on my forehead before kissing it lightly.
“I’ve seen you since we were kids and you first stitched me up.
” He takes my hands to his mouth, brushing my fingertips against his lips.
“You were as steady as stone that day. I’ve loved you every minute of every day since, Rosie. ”
I almost lose my resolve, my heart thundering in response to his. Desperate to stay focused, I glance upward. The cold air smells like stars. “The northern lights are out tonight.”
He shakes his head, unwilling to let me distract him. “I can’t let you give up your life for others.”
The naked anguish in his eyes is too much.
I can’t play this out any longer. “Come here,” I say, trying to lead him to the shelter of the large rock I’d woken up by.
I hold him with one hand. The other dips into my medical kit, years and years of training guiding me to exactly what I need.
“I have to tell you something, but you should be sitting down for it.”
He won’t budge. I look back at him, squeezing his hand for all I’m worth. The moon outlines the strength of him. “Please,” I beg.
With a torn expression, he finally lets me guide him to the rock. “You’re not going to convince me to let you run into the arms of the Verdant Beast,” he says as he drops heavily onto the ground next to me, “so don’t even try.”
It occurs to me he hasn’t slept in at least a day. How’s he still going?
“We’ll think of an alternative,” he says. “There’s an answer for every question, I swear.”
“There is,” I agree, trying to capture every angle of his beautiful face as I lean in for another kiss. He feels the sting of my needle before the touch of my lips, but the liquid Veranol is quick. He barely has time to pull away.
Betrayal etches his features.
It’s the last image I’ll see of him.