Chapter 41 · The Command

"Give me the key."

Dorian dropped to one knee in front of me.

It looked like surrender.

It wasn't.

His shoulders stayed square. One hand hovered beside the weapon at his hip, ready to draw if I made the wrong move.

I tightened my grip on the device. "No."

"Let me take command."

"You said it might kill you."

"I said it might kill both of us."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"No. It's supposed to be honest."

A sharp laugh scraped out of me. "Honest? You stood under the moon and told me our bond meant nothing."

His gray eyes locked onto mine.

"I told them it meant nothing."

My thumb stopped above the key.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't turn this into some tragic excuse. You looked me straight in the face and said, 'I reject you.'"

His jaw tightened. "Because Silas had a blade against Iris's throat."

The name hit harder than it should have.

"Silas wasn't there."

"He was watching through the council lens."

"Then why didn't you tell me afterward?"

Dorian's mouth pulled tight.