Kieran drops and lands in a crouch, blade in hand. I can practically see him calculating, trying to figure out if he can take Logan now that all the cards are on the table.
Based on what I just saw? The answer is probably no.
He rises and fixes Logan with a stare that promises violence. “This isn’t over.”
“If I wanted you dead, you’d already be dead,” Logan says, sharp and cold. It’s the voice of someone who’s been holding back for months… because hehasbeen holding back for months. “I’ve had a thousand opportunities. I’ve saved your lives more times than you know. I’m not your enemy.”
“You’re a Revenant.” Kieran spits the word like poison. “You’re what we’re meant to destroy.”
“I am.” Logan’s eyes don’t leave Kieran’s face. “And Jade’s the one who’s destined to destroy me. Tempest chose her. Not you. Not anyone else.Her.”
No.
Don’t do this. Don’t put this on me.
“So until she decides to do what she was chosen for, you don’t get to do it for her,” he finishes.
Kieran’s grip tightens on his blade. “She’s compromised. She’s not thinking clearly.”
“I’m standing right here.” The words snap out of me, thunder rumbling overhead. “And I can make my own decisions.”
Kieran’s blade rises further.
Logan steps toward me.
“It’s her call.” Logan raises his hands, palms out. And then, slowly and deliberately, he goes to his knees on the deck, his eyes locked on mine the entire time.
What the hell is he doing?
“Whatever you decide, I’ll accept it,” he says quietly, and underneath the words is just… exhaustion. “Even if it means you kill me right here.”
The world goes silent.
Or maybe that’s just my brain short-circuiting. Because Logan Ashford—Logan the Revenant, Logan the monster, Logan who pinned a demigod to a mast with vampire magic—is kneeling in front of me like I’m his executioner.
And he means it.
The realization crashes through me, sucking all the air from my lungs at once. Because he actually means it. If I decide to kill him right now, he’ll let me.
Silver sparks race up my arms and dance between my fingers, the storm overhead rumbling again in response.
Kill him.
The thought surfaces, sharp and sudden and not entirely my own.
He’s been lying to you since the day you met. The love you thought you had was built on a corpse’s deception.
My electricity surges brighter, feeding on every broken thing inside me until the air reeks of ozone. Kieran steps back, and Evie’s heat shield flickers and thins, her flames shrinking away from my skin.
Logan just stays there, on his knees, those familiar gray eyes locked on mine.
Kill him and it’s over. Kill him and you’re free. Kill him and?—
And what?
I lose the person who held me through the worst moments of my life? I become the weapon Tempest wants me to be? I murder someone who’s saved me, time and time again? Someone who I still love, even if I can’t bring myself to tell him yet?
My lightning wavers.