Chapter 123: Ruin
"What do you think I’m doing, Lucas?" Her voice cracked. "Everything I do is for them. For this realm. For the people I’ve bled for. I have no power. No wolf. No claim. What else do they respect but blood and bond?"
"You think they respect Kieran more than they fear you?" I whispered. "Then they’re fools."
She looked away.
And then I said the one thing I swore I wouldn’t.
"I know about the condition."
Her whole body tensed.
"The curse," I said. "We found it. In the Temple of the First Moon. The relic said—"
"I know what it said," she cut me off, eyes burning. "I know what it demands."
"I don’t want to be your weakness," I said. "But if you think destroying me will bring your power back, do it. Kill me."
"Stop it."
"I mean it. Do it. Right here, right now."
She slapped me.