"Are you truly going to leave without speaking with her?" Caleb asked, causing Derrick's mind to wander to her amethyst eyes for the thousandth time.
Derrick sighed. It was hopeless. He was hopeless, but he wasn't thoughtless or foolish. Sometimes, cruelty was kindness and setting her free unmarked was in her best interest. "It's for the best."
"I once thought I was doing the right thing letting Persephone go."
Caleb's smirk irritated him. It wasn't the same. Derrick's fate was doomed to failure, because his immortal life was resigned to destroying his old House. He wasn't egotistical to believe that they weren't going to destroy him. They almost had. He wouldn't allow Briar to be destroyed by him or by his old House. He refused to watch his mate suffer the fate he would.
