“You, maybe. Not me.”
“You’ve gone off the path they want you on. So have I. They’re going to get rid of us and rebuild. It doesn’t matter how much Zephyr loves you. Between his father’s pressure and Arvo’s, he won’t stay true to you. Eventually—probably soon—he’ll leave you in the open air, and a group of hired guns will blow your brains out. There’s already a hole dug at Eelicht.”
That was the cemetery behind campus. He looked like he was telling the truth, but I couldn’t be sure, so I pressed harder.
“If you want me to side with you, Sol, I need some honesty.”
“I am being—”
“Not about that. I want to know how you got me into Stormcloud.”
He nodded. “You know already, Biba. My family paid your way.”
“Why?”
“To kill you. Simple as that.”
For a moment, we stood silently. He didn’t seem to think there was anything weird about what he said. Like he thought speaking honestly for once made the admission palatable.
“What the hell, Sol?”
“From the moment my father died, I was told that Harry Quinn and his daughter had to pay. My mother made the payment so that I could avenge my dad.”
“And why didn’t you?”
Sol looked down. He was thinner than I’d ever seen him. His clothes hung off of him. Even if he wanted me dead in that moment, I could probably have fought him off.
“I got to know you, Biba,” he muttered. “I told myself I would kill you before you had a chance to change my mind. But then I saw you and talked to you, and I couldn’t do it.”
His soulful, hazel eyes looked up and met mine, and I saw he wasn’t lying. Somehow, Arvo’s story about Sol was both totally true and completely wrong. There was a time he meant me harm, but that was not now. He could have killed me, and he hadn’t; he didn’t. He was being sincere, instead.
I couldn’t let my guard down, that much was sure, but our magnetic connection was still there.
“I’m the only one you can trust,” he said, “because I’m the only one who really loves you. I love you enough to defy my family and the Kings. I will give up my life to keep you safe.”
Sol reached out a hand, and instinctively, I took it. He pulled me to him and wrapped his thin, sinewy arms around me.
Our lips met. It was the tenderest embrace I’d ever felt, loving and soft and devoted. His tongue darted lightly between my lips, passionate but not aggressive. This felt as safe as any man ever had. Despite myself, I wanted it to go on forever. It took an extreme amount of willpower to push off and end the kiss.
I broke away.
I looked into Sol’s warm, seemingly sincere eyes. We stood in silence, regarding each other, and I puzzled it out.
Can I do this? I wondered. Can I forget that he intended to murder me and trust him?
I didn’t know, but then again, I might not have any choice. . . .