"I would not let you enter alone."
"Neither will I."
"You carried me away before there was even a discussion."
"Because you had already decided there would be no discussion."
"I was investigating."
"You had concealed the fragment, disabled the barrier, and reached the door before anyone knew where you were."
"The guards knew."
"The guards were chasing you."
"That still counts as knowing."
Arik's gaze sharpened. "Would you let me do it?"
Liam looked away.
Deira's suspended districts gleamed beyond the windows, pale towers drifting among golden ether currents, too peaceful for the argument filling the study.
"No," he admitted at last. "But you are different."
Arik gave a short, humorless laugh. "Of course."
"You are."
"Because my soul is damaged?"
"Because Felix's poison was created for you."
"And the palace called you an authorized vessel."
Liam folded his arms more tightly, brows furrowed. "I am not fragile."
"Neither am I."
"That is debatable."
