I sucked in a breath, even though I’d expected such an answer. “Who did you think I was...before.”
He half-smiled, self-deprecating and frustrated. “When I realized you weren’t Quell, I thought you were my fable.”
I reared upright. “Your fable? What does that mean?”
My mind shot back to the dorm upstairs. To the identical books on each pillow. To the fable each kid was named after.
Kas had chosen one based on a genie and giving his wishes to others. How could he think I was—
“You look like the genie who visited me when I was out-of-my-mind drunk.” He snorted. “I should’ve known I was drunk when I started seeing beautiful women.” He scoffed harder than he snorted. “A beautiful woman who wasn’t trying to rape me, that is.”
I didn’t know what the hell to say to that, so I stayed quiet.
Another few minutes passed before he added, “She said it was my turn. That the wishes I’d given others were now mine, and all I had to do was ask for what I wanted.”
He didn’t continue, forcing me to ask, “And did you?”
“Wish?” He turned his head, his tangled hair splaying around his head on the pillow. “Yes. I had nothing else. No one else left to gift the wishes to. I was free to be selfish and think of myself.”
“Thinking of yourself doesn’t make you selfish, Kas.”
He shrugged, looking away. “I asked for three things. Two of which she granted me.”
“Can you tell me?”
He kept his eyes downcast, murmuring, “I wished for this place to be forgotten. That all the people associated with it would die.”
“And?”
“And that my family would be kept safe.” He looked up, almost shy as if I’d mock him for such a noble wish. Didn’t he see that even though he’d used his wishes, he’d still used them to benefit others? There was nothing in those requests about him personally. Nothing to help—
“My third wish never came true, though.” Running his fingers down the splint binding his broken arm, he shrugged again. “I understand why. I’ve done too much. Caused too much damage.”
Kneeling beside him, I couldn’t fight the urge not to reach out. Resting my hand on the top of his, I asked quietly, “What was your third wish?”
I already knew.
I knew the fable.
I’d read the book.
And I saw the wish in his eyes. The haunting need to believe he was worthy of it someday, even though he still believed he didn’t.
“Happiness,” he breathed. “I wished for happiness.”
And once again, I found myself playing along with his hallucinations. “Well, you’re in luck, Kassen Sands.” I bent over him, whispering in his ear. “I am who you think I am. And your third wish will come true. I’ll make sure of it.”
He sucked in a breath. His entire body vibrated. Then he grabbed me, spun me, and tucked my back against his front. Spooning me with his body, he threw his leg over mine, trapping me better than any rope or chain.
“I’ll be yours forever if you grant it.” He nuzzled the back of my neck. “Completely yours. Eternally in your debt. If you make me happy? God, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you in return.” He placed a delicate kiss on my nape, inhaling me as if he couldn’t bear to let me go.
So many pieces of me screamed to run, hating how vulnerable I was. I’d permitted him to once again disarm me, bind me, and place me entirely at his mercy.
I couldn’t keep doing this. Couldn’t continue letting a damn kiss scramble my mind.
You can’t forget he isn’t normal, Gem.
He was unstable, violent, and had an abusive history—all perfect ingredients in creating a mass murderer with mental issues.
I didn’t stand a chance against him physically. I knew that.
My only hope was to stay immune to him. To ignore my moronic heart and guard myself against the multiple pieces of him all scrambling for salvation.
I stiffened in his arms, calculating how best to untangle myself from his hot embrace.
Only, he felt me shift. He groaned sleepily, nuzzling into my hair again. “You want to leave me, too?”
I swallowed hard. If he was falling asleep again, I ran the risk of a different Kas waking up. “We left dinner across the room...I’ll-I’ll go fetch it.”
“I’m not hungry.” He kissed my neck, sending shivers down my spine. “Stay. Please...don’t go.”
My stomach knotted in pain. “I’m not leaving. I’ll just—”
“I’m happy with you in my arms. I’ve never felt so...calm. Stay. Just a little longer.”
The knot in my belly twisted into barbwire. Once again, he imprisoned me with brutal honesty and a voice layered with loss.
Closing my eyes, I squeezed back tears.
“Say you won’t go. Not yet.” He inched closer, flushing our bodies tight together. “I don’t want this to end.”
I thought of my brother and how distraught I’d be if Josh ever suffered what Kas had. I thought of Kas’s family, none the wiser to his torture—most likely thinking their son was dead after so many years.