Chapter 17 · Why do you keep letting him live?

He let Toby drop. Toby hit the floor coughing, gasping, hands at his throat.

"Why?" Cael said to me, quiet, so only I could hear. He was still too close. His forehead almost touched mine. "Why do you keep letting him live?"

"Because he's my friend." My throat closed up. "Because he was my friend before you, before any of this, before the Crown burned my life down. And because if I let you kill him, I'm no better than Evelyn."

"You are nothing like Evelyn." His voice went rough. His hand came up, hesitated, then cupped the back of my neck. His palm was scorching. The bond pulsed between us, stupid and loud, and my knees actually wobbled. "You feel too much. That's your problem."

"And you don't feel enough. That's yours." I shoved at his chest but didn't get anywhere. He was a wall. "Back up. You're crowding me."

"You like it when I crowd you." He said it like an accusation, eyes dropping to my mouth for half a second before snapping back up. "You hate that you like it."

"You wish.