Fable (Fable, #1)

by Adrienne Young

“I took you off Jeval because I didn’t want to leave you there,” he breathed. “I couldn’t leave you there.” It was the first thing he’d said to me that had the heavy weight of truth in the words. I tried to read him, studying the shadows that moved over his face, but only fragments of him were visible, as always. He was only pieces, never a whole. He was quiet for a long moment before he took a step toward me. “I’ll cast my vote to bring you on as our dredger.” The heat of him coiled around me. “If you tell me that you understand something.” “What is it?” His eyes ran over my face. “I can’t care about anyone else, Fable.” His meaning filled the small bit of space between us, making me feel like the walls were creeping in. Because I knew why he’d said it. It was in the way his eyes dropped to my mouth sometimes when he looked at me. It was in the way his voice deepened just a little when he said my name. West was taking a different kind of risk by voting me onto his crew, and in this moment, he was letting me see it. “Tell me you understand.” He held his hand out between us, waiting. This wasn’t just an admission. This was a contract. So, I met his eyes, not a single hitch in my voice as I took his hand into mine. “I understand.”

Ooo a fun twist on what is normally a set trope