He would die in this room, buried alive by the weight of his life.

There are few things I hate more than feeling weak. Needing help or failing top the list. The worst, however, is knowing that all three just happened.

A hand in mine.. hot. Breath on my neck... sweet. The feel of lips on my own... forbidden.

Ien stopped her voice with more kisses, more promises of a world filled with only them.

I’d accepted my judgment without question. Agreed to live a mortal life. I didn’t know my memories would come with me; didn’t know I’d relive them every day.Death would have been more merciful.

I press my lips hard against hers, tasting her desire, her pain, her love, her confusion. At once I’m in two lives, two worlds, two places.

A pang of deep longing ripples through me. I’m torn between my promise to send Aydan to the Abyss and my need to keep him safe. The opposing forces fragment what remains of my mind, breaking me down once again.

She’s right in some ways. She doesn’t need a shrink. But she does need to remember. I need her to remember; remember and still choose me. Choose us.

My thoughts war. Part of me needs to protect her; part of me wants something else. Something vile. Wrong.