Page 49 of Hero of Havoc

“That’s undeniable. Anyone else?” she asks, and I shrug.

“Everyone says I have my mother’s eyes and my father’s temperament, but my family… it’s hard.”

“What’s hard about it?”

“It sounds silly.”

“Does it?”

I shrug again, embarrassment creeping under my skin. “I love my sisters. I care about them more than words can explain, but that’s precisely the point. I can’t show it. That level of…”

My words trail off and her eyes find mine.

“Vulnerability.”

I nod, gulping as I let the truth take root. “I don’t know how to handle it.”

“Neither do I,” she admits. “What about Garside?”

“What about him?” I mumble, my back stiffening at the question, and she cocks a brow at me.

“I don’t really know. I just felt an energy between you two back in the medical center. I was probably high on delirium or something, I just⁠—”

“You’re not wrong,” I admit. “I don’t know how to be vulnerable with a man who isn’t my father but is my mother’s mate.”

“Is that strange to you?”

I exhale. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s all me.”

“How so?”

“This feels like a therapy session, and I’m not sure I’m equipped to answer correctly,” I blurt, and her eyes soften.

“I’m sorry. That’s not my intention at all. I was curious, but regardless, there is no right or wrong answer, Baron; there’s just what you feel.”

I shake my head. “I don’t want my feelings to scare you away.”

“Your rejection did that already. I don’t think it’s going to be any worse than that, do you?” Her lips curl into a barely there smile, easing the tension despite the wound her words leave in their wake.

I hate that I already made a mess of this once, but for the first time, it doesn’t feel like she’s holding it against me. Not that I would blame her if she did. Yet the fact that she isn’t leaves me in awe. Tingles zip across my skin as I gape at her, unable to form words.

“Are you okay?” she asks, her eyebrows pinching as she gnaws on her bottom lip.

“I don’t think so.”

“Do you need me to get help?” She shifts, ready to climb to her feet, but I reach for her arm, halting her in place as Alaric moves for the first time, peering over his shoulder at us with half-mast eyelids.

“There is no helping me when it comes to you, Firefly.”

“Baron.”

“Every time I look at you, I’m in awe. Every time you offer me a glimpse of your grace, a sliver of your kindness, or a taste of your pure heart, it floors me. How am I supposed to sit beside you, knowing the pain I’ve played a part in, when all you’ve ever been is the most phenomenal person to ever walk this earth?”

Her pupils are wider than ever as she stares at me, her cheeks rosy as she shakes her head. “That’s… I’m not… I⁠—”

“All of this started with madness, Ivy, before we ever got the pleasure of meeting one another. That can’t be our present anymore; I refuse, and it most certainly can’t be our future. You deserve everything, from the best of your mates to the blessing of The Fates,” I ramble, my emotions churning inside of me so fast I can’t stop the words from spilling from my lips. “I want to promise you a life worth living, a future filled with hope, love, freedom, dreams, and endless opportunities. Because you deserve it; more than anyone else in all of the kingdoms combined.”

“Baron,” she rasps as I cup her cheek with my free hand, my heart racing wildly in my chest.