POV: Kaelira
"The bond is not why you matter to me anymore."
I stared at him, my mouth slightly open, and for a moment, I could not find a single word to say back.
"Say that again.”
"You heard me," he said.
"I want to hear it again.”
His jaw moved slightly, as if the words cost him something the first time, and he was deciding if he had enough left for a second round.
"The bond is not why you matter to me," he said, slower this time. "Not anymore."
I sat very still in the chair beside his, my hands folded in my lap so tight my knuckles had gone pale.
"Then why do I matter to you?" I asked.
He looked at me for a long moment, and something in his face shifted, the King falling away piece by piece until there was just a man sitting close to me with his hands loose on his knees.
