”It’s not like that. I chose you, and you broke my heart,” Bo’s words stabbed Lauren like a blunt knife, an accusation that surprised her, considering that everything she ever did was done specifically to avoid breaking Bo’s heart.

She’d spent days hiding and burrowing like a gopher through the thick dust of the Dark archives in search of clues, all in the name of keeping Bo safe. She’d held her breath and tucked into a ball behind a pillar when she overheard Evony conspire to eliminate the Succubus and, facing possible imprisonment and torture, Lauren even stole an ancient Book of Prophecies that seemed to cast doubt on the trustworthiness of Bo’s current lover. What did this get her? Being cast aside as filth, as she had always been by the Fae. This was new, however, to be rebuffed by the woman she loved more than her own life.

The pushing and the prodding of her Masters—that had been her fate as a slave. The pushing and prodding of her ex-lover, friend—what were they now? That life had been unfair to her was a certainty she lived with, but the sneering accusation from Bo was a surprise, given that here they stood at the edge of the possible end of the world. Lauren dropped her eyes.

”You have to stop doing this to me.” Lauren took a step forward, her hand searching for Bo’s.

”To you?” Bo retreated from her grasp.

“Blaming me for this…” Lauren motioned toward the thick Book of Prophecies she’d just read through.

”You wanted the break.”

Lauren focused downward and ran a finger over her creased brow. ”It’s exhausting keeping up with you. First Dyson, Tamsin—and yes, I know about her. Now it’s Rainier and your destiny. It never stops.”

”How can you even say that? Don’t you see what’s going on?” She answered, shrill, testing Lauren’s patience, daring her to apologize for sins Bo seemed to believe Lauren needed to admit to or atone for.

Lauren stepped back and cast her eyes on the thick Book of Prophecies that lay open to Rainier’s picture atop of Bo’s bed. She felt a tiny rupture within her chest that triggered the falling of a brick, the first of many that would eventually form the fortress around her heart.

”Take him,” Lauren deadened her voice and moved away from Bo. ”If you can’t see that I’m here for you, that I’ve always been here, then I don’t see the point in explaining anything.”

Lauren’s knees wobbled beneath her. She croaked out a laugh and avoided looking at Bo. ”I came here because…well, it doesn’t matter anymore. The truth is relative, isn’t it?”

”You want to talk about truth?” Bo challenged her.

”I’ve tried.” Lauren’s shoulders dropped. ”It’s never a good time for it.”

”You mean you’re never ready for it.”

Lauren blinked her eyes slowly and pulled her lips into a tight-lipped smile. It was time to go. There would be no winning a place back in Bo’s heart. Lauren turned and grabbed her purse, leaving the Fae book on the bed.

”Wait! Where are you going? Don’t you even care?” Bo shouted.

Lauren kept her head down and rushed toward the stairs. Her eyes burned; she stuffed the disappointment that thickened in her throat and threatened to swell and cry from her lips. Instead, she steadied her voice and swallowed her tears. Without turning for one last look at Bo, she said calmly, ”If you can’t hear me now, Bo, you never will. Go to Rainier. Just like you said, he’s your destiny.”

And just like that, Lauren put Bo and the past behind her.