Casin Court

1

WINNIE

"Love... wait. Just..." His voice broke off into a frustrated groan, like even he didn't know what argument he was trying to make anymore.

My fingers tightened around the steering wheel until my knuckles ached. Leaving was the last thing I wanted to do, but if I stayed on this call one second longer, I was going to turn the car around.

Silence stretched between us.

One second.

Two.

Three.

I bit the inside of my cheek and stared through the windshield while snow drifted lazily across the road ahead.

Every time Valen spoke, it didn't matter what he actually said. My body reacted the same way. Butterflies flooded my stomach. Rational thought abandoned me. Words escaped my mouth without permission.

And just when I thought I might break first, he sighed.

"Have fun at the conference."

The squeak of his chair carried through the phone, and I could picture him perfectly. Leaning back in that beat-up roller chair the company refused to replace. One hand buried in his soft brown hair. Those impossible blue eyes scanning rows of samples and lab reports while his mind searched desperately for one more excuse to keep me talking.

"Call me after, okay?" he said quietly. "I wanna hear all about what you learn. Have a great time..."

A pause.

"I love you."

The words hit me like a collision.

My heart froze.

Then lurched violently against my ribs.

Before I could process what was happening, my foot slammed onto the brake. Gravel screamed beneath the tires as the car jerked to a stop.

Tears blurred my vision.

"Pooh Bear, I love you."

"I love you, Daddy!"

The memory crashed into me without warning.

For a moment I was six years old again, laughing on a merry-go-round beneath a summer sky. I could hear my father's voice as clearly as if he were sitting beside me. Feel the weight of his hand against my back. The kiss he pressed into my hair. The warmth that used to make the world feel safe.

Then the memory twisted.

Zarcon burned through my veins.

Pain exploded beneath my skin as scales ripped free.

Screams shattered the air.

Blood flooded my nose, metallic and thick.

A tear slipped down my cheek.

I never wanted Valen to love me.

Everyone who ever had eventually paid for it.

Every time he'd tried to say those words over the years, I'd found a way to stop him. I'd covered his mouth. Changed the subject. Pinched his side until he yelped. Hung up the phone. Run away before the words could settle between us.

Last year, I made him promise he wouldn't say it at all.

And he kept that promise.

Until now.

Maybe what he felt for me really was love. Maybe what I felt for him was something just as dangerous. But what good was loving him if it was the very thing that would get him killed?