Des'Tai: Book Two

24: Tyron

As Faye ranted about how selfish she was, all I could think was – you've got to be kidding me. I must have rolled my eyes half a dozen times as she went on and on and on. She knew as well as I did that the reason I walked away that night, when Artemis offered her a one way trip home, wasn't because I wanted her to leave, it was because I thought SHE'D wanted to leave. All she'd gone on about for two solid weeks was how she missed home, how she couldn't wait to leave blah blah blaaah. What kind of person would it have made me if I'd told her to stay, to give up her old life completely? That was a choice only she could make.

I opened my mouth to tell her as much, when her palms connected with my chest in a push.

"I stayed for you dammit! I fucking stayed when you walked away!"

Faye had a thing where she lashed out without warning; there was no run up to it, no little helpful signals. It was like her brain just clicked and tada.

When I didn't answer her, she shoved at me again. "I stayed!"

I grabbed at her wrists, stopping her from pushing me again. "What do you want, a fucking medal? You've stayed long enough just to leave me anyway?"

"It's the right thing to do! Aren't you listening?" She fumed, trying to pull her arms free from my hold.

I was tired of this back and forth we were doing, it was nothing more than a continuous game of passing the blame. Since Luna had told me of Faye's plan, there was only one real thing making me so angry now and this nonsense was only getting in the way of it.

Faye continued to fight, thrashing against me like a toddler. "Let go of me!"

"Stop that!" I snapped, dragging her back to me. "Shut up and stay still for two minutes, will you?"

She glared at me but did as I asked.

"I have simple questions and I want simple answers, no ranting on about something that happened months ago." When her eyes narrowed and lipped tightened, I took my chance. "Do you understand what goes into elven mating?"

Her jaw clenched. "Yes."

"And you'd be okay with it and with everything that comes with it?"

"Yes."

"Do you truly believe that we're...soul mates?" I used the human term purposely.

Faye's eyes flickered across my face as she contemplated her answer. Then, she murmured a quick. "I do."

"Do you mean that or are you just saying that because you think it's what I want to hear?"

"I'm saying it because it's what I really think. Now, hurry up and finish your questions."

My brow ticked at her. With that question out of the way, it was time for the big ones. "Will you be happier if you went back to Earth?"

Faye answered in a heartbeat. "No. Will you?"

I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding before I replied with a quick, sharp. "No."

I'd be fucking miserable without her, but I wasn't about to tell Faye that; at least, not yet. "Do you want to leave me?"

I could feel the muscles in her arms slacken, so I released my hold on her wrists, letting them drop to her sides. My heart was pounding in my chest; I didn't know what I was going to do if she answered the way I dreaded she would.

She looked away, her attention focused on something at her feet. "No."

I closed my eyes, relief flooding through me, then quickly blurted out my last question. "Do you love me?"