Aveline lifted her chin, her eyes bright with stubborn resolve. "Then I'm not going with you."
If Hamilton did not deserve a place beside her while she was with Theron, then she would choose Hamilton.
It was easier to say than to feel. Easier to stand on principle than to admit what was happening inside her.
Because her mind understood. Her heart did not.
Something in her chest felt as though it were being torn apart by that choice, and she hated that Theron was the one making it hurt this much. Hated that, for a moment, he looked almost heartless to her.
Her throat tightened as she swallowed the ache. She glanced down at the obedient little creature beside her, who was resisting every instinct in its body just because she had asked it to. Hamilton was bigger now than when she had first seen him—nearly the height of her waist when he stood, broad-bodied and sharp-toothed, with the terrifying ability to breathe fire.
He could overpower her. He could overpower Theron, too.
