AMANDA
"I loved him," I said, the words leaving my lips like a curse.
I shut my eyes because I can’t stand to see their reactions—not yet. Not when the past is clawing at my throat, dragging me under. I loved him. I loved him. I f*****g loved him. And it ruined me.
Luther exhales sharply through his nose, a slow, dangerous sound. "You’re f*****g joking," he says, but he already knows I’m not.
I forced my eyes open. My throat burns, my chest aches, but I swallow it down. I have to get through this. I have to say it.
"I was seventeen." My voice wavers, but I keep going. "He was… everything. Charming, ruthless, powerful. He made me feel—” My breath shudders. “ We were mated to each other.”
Theodus was mine. And I was his.
We grew up knowing it—that we were bound, that we were meant. T
