“I don’t trust what he’s asking you to do, Quinn.”
“I don’t trust him either, but I was reading him the whole time, Eden. He isn’t lying about anything. He believes everything he’s said. That’s a frightening prospect. He’s an intelligent man. He’s made me think, and I’ve taken one thing in particular to heart.”
“Oh, what’s that?”
“That I shouldn’t be scared to use my ability more; I shouldn’t take for granted the way people feel, and I shouldn’t be scared about being the person I am.”
“Even with me?”
“Even you. I thought for years that Maertn was in love with me, and look how wrong I was about that.” Quinn punched him playfully. “I need to make sure you haven’t fallen in love with someone else.”
“I couldn’t fall in love with anyone else right now if I tried, Quinn. You’re my life.”
It was the truth. “What are we going to do Eden? I can’t go back to Sammah. He’s already tried to kill me once; what’s going to stop him from hurting me again?”
“He can’t do anything to you, Quinn, the baron wouldn’t let him.”
“You think that’s true? Pax is petrified of Sammah.”
“You read that?”
“I can tell, even without the power. Pax might be the head of his family, but Sammah is the apath and the one everyone fears. Sammah has pushed Sha’sek to take Everfell and he’s the one that’s hungering for war. Pax is incapable of stopping him. All he can do is try to manipulate the situation.”
“Wasn’t it a mistake to send Sammah away in the first place if he’s so unreliable?”
“I guess it was preferable for Sammah to cause chaos in Everfell than here.”
“I can’t disagree with that. If you were Sammah’s brother, would you want him around?”
“Not for a second.” Eden dropped a quick kiss on Quinn’s forehead.
“Why do we have to do any of this, Quinn? He’s said you’re free. Let’s lie to him. We’ll get on a ship, and we’ll just go somewhere else. We don’t have to go back to Sammah, and I don’t have to go back to Rowan. I don’t want a part in any of this. I just want to be with you.”
“That’s lunacy, Eden. You really think your family wouldn’t try to find you, or that Sammah or Pax wouldn’t try to hunt me down?”
Eden’s heart sank. Quinn had changed, even in the short time they had been apart. She was more reserved, and she’d grown a quiet confidence outside of the constraints of Sammah’s patronage. He was sure he could love this Quinn more, but Eden knew that this Quinn wouldn’t be his.
“So you’re going back to him, then?”
Quinn slid her hand out from under the blankets and stroked it down Eden’s bruised face. He was starting to grow stubble from days without shaving.
“You were in that room. Did Pax give me a choice? About as much as Vance did. But at least this time, you’ll be coming with me.”
“You mean that?”
“I never wanted to leave you Eden, I said those things to try and protect you. Shiver wouldn’t have forgiven you, and Vance wouldn’t have let you leave.”
He searched her eyes for any hint of a lie, and lost himself. She moved a hand from his face to the back of his head and pulled him down into a deep kiss. Eden didn’t resist.