Hewasbeing kind. He’d gotten her out of prison, for the gods’ sake.
Had it only been a day since he first saw her? It felt like an entire lifetime had passed. Their wedding seemed like eons ago.
All of a sudden, Ryker was done with this.
He needed space. He had to put some room between him and Brynleigh, with her sad eyes, broken laugh, and golden hair that called to him even now.
She’d betrayed him and planned on killing him, but his body didn’t seem to care. He wanted her as much as he had the first time he saw her.
His heart urged him to put aside his anger and consider her reasons, but that organ was a fool, and he wasn’t ready to listen to it.
With a flick of his finger, Ryker opened the small box.
A topaz bracelet sat on a bed of inky velvet, and a single silver teardrop hung from it. He took the jewelry out carefully, undoing the clasp.
“Give me your wrist.”
She didn’t move. Of course not. Nothing would be easy between them anymore. He was beginning to see that.
She asked, “Why?”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ryker sighed loudly. His mask of calmness was well and truly gone.
“So, I can put this tracker on you.” He held it up. “It’s been a long twenty-four hours, and I need more coffee.”
What he actually needed was to turn back time to before this happened, but since that wasn’t possible, caffeine came in a close second.
“We can go over the logistics of the plan tonight. You need to sleep and have more blood before we leave,” he said.
He could tell she wasn’t back to full strength yet, and they wouldn’t go anywhere until she was better. Because she was his asset. He had to ensure she was healthy enough to accomplish the task at hand.
That was it.
Brynleigh’s eyes hardened. “Aren’t you missing a step?”
His brows knit together. “No.”
He’d thought it all through. This was the only way.
“Yes, you are.” She glared daggers at him. If looks could kill, he’d be a dead man a hundred times over. “I haven’t agreed to this asinine suicide mission.”
“Do you want to go back to prison?” he snapped.
He hadn’t intended for his voice to be so sharp, but he was just sogods-damneddone.He used to have the patience of a saint, but that seemed to have vanished on their disastrous wedding night.
“Obviously fucking not.” Her gaze was deadly. “They tortured me, Ryker.” She rolled up her sleeves, showing him the still-pink flesh of her wrists. “I’d rather die than return to that hellhole.”
“Then we are in agreement,” he snarled.
His magic was a storm as he struggled to remain in control. He’d never been so close to losing his grip on his power as he was in that moment.
“There are only two options. Two paths you can take. That’s it. This isyourdoing. It’s called a fucking consequence. Deal with it.”
Fire flashed through her eyes. “I’m not a child. I know what consequences are.”
She snarled.
“Good. Then make up your mind. Will it be prison, or will you help find out what the fuck Jelisette is doing with the Black Night? This is it. I have nothing else. There isn’t another option, nor do you have anyone else you can deceive and betray.” Ryker knew he was all she had, and gods help him if that didn’t make him feel horrible. “Decide.”