Queens of Mist and Madness (Fae Isles, #4)

by Lisette Marshall

‘But what if we’re wrong,’ I whispered, swayed by the lure of the easy way out. ‘What if she does want—’ ‘Em, she didn’t give these powers to whoever you wish you could be.’ His eyes burned so piercingly sharp between the deceptive softness of his lashes; his low, rough voice was the gentlest punch in the gut. ‘She gave them to you. Because of the choices you would make with them. Because of the empathic capacity and moral compass that you showed her. So why are you trying to get rid of those very things now, as if you’re failing her by doing exactly what she trusted you to do?’ My knees were trembling. I wasn’t sure when they’d started. ‘You don’t want to use the damn magic,’ he added wryly, sending me a slight, one-shouldered shrug. ‘So don’t use it. Do something better instead. You’re allowed to keep it that simple, cactus.’ It sounded like a lie, all of it – not because he was a liar, but because it seemed unreasonable for the truth to be so convenient. ‘But if Thysandra never talks …’ ‘Sooner or later, she will.’ He closed his eyes for a brief instant. ‘I did, too, in the end.’