Queen of Myth and Monsters (Adrian X Isolde, #2)

by Scarlett St. Clair

“Did you need something?” He opened his mouth to speak but hesitated, and I realized he’d come to talk about Sorin. “I did not know,” he began. “I swear to you. I—” “I never thought you did,” I said. “I would like your permission to hunt for him,” Daroc said. I was quiet, studying him, uncertain this was the choice he should make so soon after his lover’s betrayal. “And what will you do when you find him?” I asked. Daroc swallowed. His eyes were so red, they looked as if they were filled with blood. “I will kill him.” “For me?” I asked. “Or for you?” He opened his mouth to speak, but instead, he seemed to hold his breath. “Would you really wish to exist in this world after you murdered your lover?” I asked. I knew vengeance would come for Sorin, but I did not think it right for Daroc to take up the gauntlet, and I would never ask it of him. “Former lover,” he said, a bitter note to his voice. “All the same,” I said. “You love him.” His mouth trembled. “I wish I didn’t,” he said through clenched teeth. Because then I would not have to feel this pain. I heard what he did not say aloud, the words lodging in my heart like a knife. I knew a version of this desperation because I had felt it when Yesenia died.