>
> Iz said approvingly.
His breath rushed out of him in a funny kind of chuff, and that—
That was the closest thing to a laugh he’d felt ever since Sebastian had shut him away down here.
> he said. >
Silence pressed in around them. A little bit of his fluency was creeping back to him, the words coming a little easier, but it was hard to think of what he wanted to say.
It took a lot of effort to keep gripping the narrow ledge of humanity that he still had left, and Iz paradoxically made it easier and harder at the same time. She revitalized him, like a breath of fresh air or a day’s worth of sunlight, but he couldn’t shake the knowledge that sooner or later, she would be just like him. The bright, brave woman in front of him would get worn down into feeling like an animal.
Not if we don’t let her,his hellhound growled inside him.
I thought you wanted me to just let go,Logan said.
Not if it means pulling her down too.
It was right. Retreating to its simpler way of looking at things would make his hellish life here easier on him, but it wouldn’t help her. And he couldn’t leave her alone in this place. He couldn’t stand the idea of her being as confused and alone as he had been.
She was looking at him with those golden eyes, and it was almost like she trusted him, even though he hadn’t done anything for her or anyone else. She had been relieved to find out he was a person, even though he was all washed-up and half-crazy.
He could be hopeless all he wanted, but he didn’t get to marinate in it anymore. He had to be there for her.
> Iz said.
He couldn’t remember everything, but he gave her as much as he could.
> He found the word again. > That wasn’t the right word, not by human terms. He scraped around in his head until he found something that felt more like what a person would say. >
Iz exhaled shakily. >
He could hear the tamped-down fear in her mental voice, and he wasn’t sure whether or not he should tell her a little white lie. Did she really want to know how long people up there had been searching for Sebastian’s hideout?
But she seemed like somebody who would want the truth. And she was sharp, too—she’d figured out the telepathy faster than anyone he’d ever known. It wouldn’t take her long to realize that he was so broken hemusthave been down here a while.
> Logan admitted. >
Her silence was open somehow, a warm and waiting invitation to say more, if he wanted to.
> He paused. >
A little shiver ran through Iz, making her wings flutter, but then Logan saw her breathe in. When she spoke again, she sounded calm.
>
The compassion there almost broke his heart. > he agreed.
Iz made an expression that Logan eventually deciphered as some kind of draconian smile. It was exactly as terrifying as it sounded, but he assumed it was well-intentioned.
Actually, it was kind of cute.
He did the telepathic equivalent of clearing his throat, broadcasting some kind ofhmm-rumble-rumblethat he knew from experience sounded like a funny kind of static.
>
> she said, immediately answering her own question. >