I jerked as Waleron shut the door and leaned up against it, arms crossed as if to block my escape. “You’re still seeing Liam.”
Fuck. What the hell? How did he find out? I noticed he avoided the words sleeping, fucking, or having sex with. I refused to bend under his cool intensity when I replied, “Yeah.”
“You fuckin’ lied to me!” His pulse throbbed in his temples. Shit, he was mad. Like livid mad. He didn’t swear unless he was about to lose his shit. So, yeah, he was about to lose his shit.
I swallowed. “Not really. I did stop sleeping with him.”
“Why, Delara?”
Because I had no choice. “To protect someone.” A half-lie. How could I tell him the truth, though? How was I supposed to tell him I’d been pregnant all those years ago? That Liam was threatening my child’s life? A child that had been born dead, and yet I couldn’t take the chance that he was telling the truth.
“Abby,” he stated.
He knew about Abby? I fiddled with the pockets of my khaki cargo pants, nails digging into the material. Tears threatening to fall and I pinched my thighs.
I inhaled a ragged breath. “We didn’t tell you about her because you’re obligated to tell the Wraiths. They’d have killed her, Tac.”
“Our law has changed since Balen—”
I interrupted, “For Scars, not witches, and you’re so goddamn loyal to them that you’d have handed her over like a mouse to a snake.” I bowed my head, needing a moment to escape his ice-blue eyes that used to look at me with such adoration.
Waleron’s voice hardened. “You think so poorly of me?” I looked up and his brows rose. I didn’t say anything. “Yes, I’m obligated to inform the Wraiths, but I protect all, including the witches when need be.”
“You think you have the power to do that?” I shook my head, jagged strands falling in front of my eyes. “You don’t. Not from this.”
Waleron remained quiet and I forced myself to keep my eyes on him despite wanting to look away. Everything in my body came alive when I was near him, and it hurt like hell. No, it was more than that. It was as if I was being killed over and over again.
“If I stay with Liam, he won’t go after Abby,” I said.
“No!” Waleron shouted. He ran a hand over his shaved head and broke eye contact. Every muscle flexed with frustration, and it appeared like he was looking for something to smash his fist into. But he wouldn’t. This was Tac. “And you think he’ll let you just walk away? When? When, Delara?” he said.
No, I doubted he’d let me walk away unscathed, but I didn’t care about me. “Once Abby is out of danger, we can decide what to do about Liam.”
“If no laws are broken, we can do nothing,” Waleron stated. “Abby willingly drank his blood. That was her choice.”
“She was drunk and stupid. We all make mistakes.”
He glared at me, arms at his sides, hands curled into fists. “Was Edan a mistake?”
“Was Trinity?” I shot back.
“No. I did what had to be done.”
“So, did I.”
He was quiet a second before he said, “I find out you go near Liam again, I will put you in Rest.”
I stiffened. “Bastard.” I grabbed the closest thing to me, a hardcover book, and threw it at him. Waleron raised his hand and it dropped to the floor with a crash before it could hit him. I used my telekinesis and five encyclopedias flew toward him. Then the green vase that sat on Keir’s desk. Then the statue sitting on the side table beside the couch.
None of it hit him. All landed at his feet.
The tension in Waleron’s body eased as his hands uncurled and he casually crossed his ankles. The stupid bloody pills he took had to be taking effect.
“I’ve called Trinity here to find out more about Abby.” His voice was calm and controlled again. “There is something we’re missing. Liam risked his truce with us by sending his underling after Rayne. Why when his interest was in Abby? Why has it suddenly shifted to Rayne?” He paused, shoved away from the door, and walked toward me, stopping a foot away. “You will stop seeing him, Delara. I don’t care if he starts a war. I don’t care if he goes after Abby or Rayne. You will not see him again.” He stopped in front of me. “Do. You. Understand. Me?”
I did. I understood, and yet, I couldn’t do what he said.
“Do you understand?” he shouted when I didn’t reply.
My body jerked and I nodded. “Yeah. I understand.”
Waleron stared at me for several seconds, and I felt him push at my shields, trying to read my mind. I clenched my jaw and resisted him. Finally, the pressure in my head released.
“The meeting is in three hours. I expect you to be here,” he said.
I strode across the room, opened the door, and walked out.
I walked upstairs into the kitchen, rinsed the soup bowl, put it in the dishwasher, and took out the ingredients to make her a chicken sandwich. I was spreading butter on the bread when Keir spoke to me telepathically.