“She’s doing this because of me,” I said, my voice dropping low as the fight slipped out of my body. I’d challenged her status quo too openly, and she couldn’t punish me publicly—not without strengthening my bond with the llaidhe. “She’s doing this because it makes her feel powerful to hold mates over our heads. She’s using you as a scapegoat because she wants to break you, and she knows that you will carry the weight of her crimes if she tells you to. No one here blames you,” Caldris said, using his free hand to tuck my hair behind my ear as I settled in his grip.
