I couldn't leave Elara now. It wasn't just a matter of my feelings. She wouldn't let me go, and more importantly, if I vanished, Alex's life would be in danger. She could banish him to an island if she wanted, but if she withdrew the specialized protection she'd assigned to him, he'd be dead within the hour.
Perhaps, deep down, some pathetic part of me was desperately seeking excuses to stay with her for even a minute longer. It was a dark kind of self-rationalization, a way to dress up my captivity in the clothes of necessity.
Whatever the reason, I made a decision. I would stay by her side. I told myself that as time passed and the wedding approached, or even after she was married, if her feelings changed or her obsession faded, it wouldn't be too late to leave then.
Or, if not... before that time ever came around, I might simply be the first to go.
