Quinn held up his hands. “I know, I’m sorry, Twig. T-there’s no excuse.”

“You’re damn right there’s no excuse. You’ve been lying since the beginning. First about the mating and now about our bond. Fuck, is there anything you told the truth about? You’re no better than that unicorn.”

Quinn flinched as if I punched him.

“Well? Don’t you have anything to say for yourself? I can’t believe I trusted you. I have to be the Elder’s biggest idiot.”

“I’ll sever the bond. It’s simple. You’ll be free and I’ll go back with Brandsome. End of your problems.” He shrugged like it was no big deal, but I saw suspicious moisture gather in his eyes.

I wasn’t about to give in to his tears. He was probably just manipulating me. Again. He knew how I felt about the bond. And he’d kept it anyway. I mean, sure, I’d gotten used to it pretty quickly and I was even growing to like knowing how he felt and what he thought all the time. Which, interestingly enough, I couldn’t do now. He’d slammed that door shut between us. Another lie? If I felt suddenly lonely, well, screw that. I was better off without him. I should let him go back to Brandsome. They deserved each other.

I took a calming breath. No, that wasn’t true. There was good in Quinn. He didn’t hide how much he hated Brandsome. I’d try to negotiate his release, but the bond had to go. Damn. Had he used magic to make my dragon think he was my mate? Isn’t that what Brandsome implied?

“Did Brandsome use magic on me to—”

“No, I swear! He just commanded me to get you to mate me.” Quinn swallowed. “I didn’t expect you to offer. When you did, I fought to resist his compelling magic. I couldn’t go through with it knowing you’d be under Brandsome’s power.” He shuddered.

“With our bond, I am anyway. You realize that, right?”

He nodded, his eyes blinking rapidly. “That’s why we need to break it.”

“I agree.”

“Okay, then.” His shoulders slumped for a moment before he consciously straightened. “I-I just wanted to say it was a pleasure getting to know you. You’re an amazing guy. It was my privilege to be your wizard . . . if only for a short time.”

“You’re welcome.” It came out frosty, but how could I believe him? For all I knew, he wanted to butter me up so I wouldn’t break the bond. If my heart thumped in my chest and a tendril of unease snaked up my spine, well, too bad. I was done being anyone’s sucker. Before I thought better of it, I burst out, “Was any of it real? The things you said? The sex? Any of it?”

Burn me! Why did I ask that? It was like stabbing myself with my own sword, then deciding I needed to twist the blade.

Quinn’s eyes widened and his lip trembled. “Twig—”

“Forget I asked.”

Quinn swallowed convulsively. “It was real. For me.”

I wanted to believe him, but how could I? “Well, at any rate, once you break the bond, we can go our own ways.”

“Okay.” No arguing. He looked gutted. Well, that’s how I felt, so we were even.

“Don’t worry, I’ll still offer to buy you from Brandsome. You do want to be free of him, right?”

“More than you’ll ever know. But he won’t let me go. Not ever.” Before I could respond, he added, “Let’s do it. I have to hold your hands to sever the bond. It will take a few minutes.”

I sighed. Of course he’d have to touch me. The last thing I wanted right now, with my own emotions running so high. My dragon urged me to take him in my arms and comfort him. Fat chance. He’d betrayed my trust—and my heart—and that wasn’t a thing I gave lightly. Or ever. For all I knew, touching me was part of his plan to get me to change my mind. I was sorry to say that if I didn’t guard my heart, it was a distinct possibility.

We each took a step toward one another and then another until we were standing almost chest to chest. Quinn looked pale, his expression determined. He held out his hands. I paused before taking them, steeling my resolve.

Ice cold fingers wrapped around mine, held on tight. He looked like he wanted to say something again, but I shook my head. He nodded, began muttering a spell under his breath. My dragon was fighting me for control. It didn’t want to sever the link.

Too bad.

“Oooh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Bill said, startling the shit out of both of us with his silent entrance. We broke apart and I spun on Bill.

“Would you stop fucking doing that? You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days!”

“Sorry,” he snickered, so not sorry. His face became serious. “But really, I’m doing you a favor.”

I sighed. Right. Everyone’s doing me a favor today. “How’s that?”

“Demon, keep your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you,” Quinn all but growled.

Bill sighed, long-suffering. He showed an unexpected flare for drama. “I’m doing you a favor too, wizard. I hope you remember that.” He focused on me. “You realize if Quinn frees you from the bond, he also destroys his magic, right?”

I snorted. “I’m sure he can bond with another dragon. He’s pretty convincing.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw Quinn flinch again. If it made me feel like crap for hurting him, well, I’d deal. My dragon, on the other hand, was pissed at even the mention of him bonding with another.

“Nope, not how it works,” Bill chirped. “Right, Quinn? He’d be just another human at that point. I don’t know about you, but it would be a HUGE sacrifice to give up my magic for someone. Especially someone who planned to let me go.” He shrugged. “Humans aren’t the smartest bunch. I need to remember to add that to my notebook when I get the chance.”

Quinn shot Bill a murderous glance before holding out his hands again, not meeting my eyes. “Let’s go. I need to get this over with.”

I didn’t touch him, a sinking feeling in my gut. “Is Bill telling the truth? Will it destroy your magic?”

“Does it matter? You don’t want to be bonded to me and I won’t give you to Brandsome. It’s the only solution.” He reached over and clasped my fingers in his, then began the spell again.

I yanked my hands away, took a step back as if he’d burned me. And I guess he had. “Hold on a minute. Just what in the lower realms do you think you’re doing? You love being a wizard. It’s who you’re meant to be. You can’t give all that up.”

He looked at me, a tear spilling down his cheek. He swiped it with the back of his hand. “What choice do I have? I don’t want to be tied to someone who doesn’t want me and only feels hatred and betrayal. I can’t hand you over to Brandsome. You don’t understand how evil he can be. What he’d make you do. How he’d use you. I’d never forgive myself. This is the only way, Twig. Please. I know I fucked up, but I’m willing to pay the price to set things right. Being with you was . . . the highlight of my life. It was worth it.”

“Fascinating.” Bill snapped his fingers and his journal appeared. I startled, having forgotten Bill’s presence. Which considering he was a Red Fury really said something. He began scribbling in that damn tome and I wanted to toss it across the room. “This must be what humans call love. I’ve heard of it, of course. Read lots of books on it. But being a demon, I’ve never had the chance to observe it firsthand. So interesting, isn’t it, Twig? Do dragons love too, or is it only humans?” He paused his scribbling, looked at me like I’d really answer him right now.

“Bill. You need to go.”

He huffed. “Seriously? It was just getting good. And it’s not like I can sit in your lobby with that gorgeous creature there. He’ll try to force my name for sure.”

“I don’t care where you go, but you need to leave. Now.”

“Fine. See if I ever do you a good turn again.” He stomped his foot—the princess routine again—then disappeared.

“Quinn, we need to talk about this.”

“There’s nothing left to say.” He tried to meet my eyes and failed.

I tilted his chin with my fingers. “There’s obviously more to say than I realized.”

“D-don’t. I know I let you down. If it matters, I’ll be punished for not mating you. Brandsome will make sure I suffer.” He gave me a watery smile, like I’d be pleased.

“I don’t want him to hurt you.” In fact, my dragon was going nuts at the thought of Brandsome touching Quinn again. A bruise formed on his cheek from where Brandsome backhanded him and just seeing it made me fight my dragon for control. It wanted to rip Brandsome into tiny little pieces.

“You don’t need to worry about me anymore. Once he takes my contract back, I won’t be your concern. You can get on with your life and I’ll get on with mine.”

“That’s what you want?” I raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

“It doesn’t matter what I want. It hasn’t really mattered since I turned twenty-one and couldn’t pass my wizarding test. It taught me life isn’t always fair. The good guys don’t always win. But I can give you your freedom. And that’s as close as I can get. Keeping you away from Brandsome will be so worth it.” He reached up and stroked my cheek. “I know you don’t believe me, but everything I said to you was real.”

“Which is why I can’t let you do this.” I placed my hand over his.

“It’s why you must let me do this.”

I stepped away. “No.”

“Twig, it’s the only way.”

“I don’t believe that.” I paced, my movements rough. “It’s not right.”

“It’s the best we’ve got.”

“No.” I shook my head. It couldn’t be. I wouldn’t let Brandsome take him back. I’d kill him and free Quinn. We could flee to the Hominus Realm. Humans had their own issues, but with Quinn’s new-found status it would possibly be manageable. It wouldn’t be ideal, though. We’d be wanted. But if we moved around enough, over time they might forget about us. Even as I thought it, I knew it wasn’t true. Well, we could go rogue. Take over Nyx’s castle. Maybe Bill would join us. We’d be formidable with a wizard, dragon, and demon combo. I wasn’t giving up Quinn. Not for anything. Not even my freedom. I knew that now. My dragon rumbled its agreement.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking,” Quinn said, “but I can tell you I’m not going to agree to it. I’m not running, if that’s where you’re going. It wouldn’t work and I don’t want to be hunted. Couldn’t handle it if something happened to you because of me.”

He had a point. What if he was killed? Could I live with myself? But I couldn’t live with myself if I let him go back to Brandsome either. I shuddered to think how he’d be punished for freeing me. I entertained one other possibility for saving him—a slim chance—but it would mean tying myself down in another way that would chafe. I sighed.

It would be worth it.