Chapter 59 · The Truth Behind His Rejection

"I rejected you to pull the hunt onto me."

Ronan Vale dropped to one knee in front of me.

Blood dripped from his hand onto the tower floor. The man who made councilors stand when he entered a room was kneeling at my feet like I was the one with power.

The tower shook beneath us.

I stared at him. "Say that again."

"I rejected you to pull the hunt onto me."

"You called me unworthy."

"I had to."

"You called me nothing. In front of a hundred cameras."

His jaw tightened. "Because if they believed you were everything to me, they'd have cut you open to find out why the gates answer to your blood."

My breath caught.

"You knew about my blood?"

"I knew they were hunting for it." His voice dropped. "I didn't know the tower would wake for you."

A blast slammed into the ward outside. Silver light flashed through the cracks in the stone. Dust rained over Ronan's shoulders.

He didn't move.

Neither did I.

"So this whole time," I said, "you weren't protecting me. You were hiding me."

"Both.