Chapter 37 · Where Did You Get It?

"It’s about your office. The seal you gave him. Every person you trusted while you shoved me away and called it protection."

Ronan flinched.

This time, he didn’t hide it.

The water climbed past my thighs.

He reached inside his coat and pulled out a piece of burned metal. Its edges were black. A broken crescent had been stamped into the center.

I knew that seal.

"Where did you get it?"

"The old archive."

"You kept it?"

"I stole it back."

He placed it in my palm.

The metal was warm despite the freezing water.

"This was used to erase your name from the mate registry," he said. "I signed the order."

My fingers closed around it.

"You did what?"

"I signed it. I thought if the council couldn’t verify the bond, they couldn’t use you against me. I thought rejection would make them stop watching you."

"You thought humiliating me would keep me safe?"

"I thought I could take the hit for both of us."

"You didn’t take anything." My voice cracked across the chamber. "You handed me to them."

His throat worked.

"I was wrong."

No title.