His hand went slack around her neck, and she slipped to the ground, coughing as he took a couple of steps back, watching her gasp for air on the floor, trying to regain what she had been deprived of.
"E--li--"
"Silence!"
The words snapped something in her and she looked up at the man she loved.
What happened?
"I do not want to hear my name on your lips."
Bewildered, she stood up slowly, his cold gaze weighing heavily on her.
When he spoke again, his voice was like a deadly whisper.
"I do not want to hear you repeat to me the poisonous dictates of the Bride Thief."
Her heartbeat was slamming loudly in her ears now.
"I don't understand," the words slipped through her lips, the shakiness of her voice failing the firmness she was trying to hold onto.
Something told her she did understand what was going on, but she was hanging on to this denial.
Maybe if she held on to this ignorance long enough, everything would fade away.
She was losing him.
