142 Collateral Damage

ELIA

"Reth… I'm sorry. I never—"

"You never thought," he growled, pacing the floor in front of her. "You never considered the impact on others if your plans were overtaken by someone with ill-intent. You never considered that you are valuable and as such, you must be protected! You were just blindly running off to do whatever you pleased—"

"Now, wait just a second!"

He whirled to face her. "I will not wait. You have made your choices, Elia, and you lay me bare, so you will listen!"

"Lay you bare?"

"You reveal my weakness, you make me weak! You force me to admit… to admit my treason!"

Her face pinched and she took a step toward him. "Reth, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that you are the single most important person in my life and you won't even help me keep you safe so my betrayal of my people will never be discovered!"