The room seems to shrink, like all sound and space collapses until it’s just me and him. My chest tightens, then warmth breaks through before I can stop it.
No one has ever and I mean, no one has ever said anything like that about me or for me. I feel my eyes starting to sting and I blink it back fast, telling myself to remember why we are here.
He’s saying it for the petition, for the test, for the council because it needs to sound convincing. That’s all.
I force myself to hold onto that thought, even as Oakie’s joy betrays me.
But even so, if I die without ever finding a mate again, maybe it’s not so bad. Because Edward Strout stood in a room full of people and said I was his.
“Thoughtful words, Strout,” Councilman Matthias says, pulling me back to the fact that the
