"Because I merged our beings rather than just pulling you back. It made you more. Made you what I am."
"But in the process, made you less." Because he could never again become a soul guide. He would remain a Mijai for the rest of eternity.
"I am well aware of the price," he replied coldly. "But I had no choice – and no desire – to do otherwise."
It was a statement that could have meant anything, but even so, something inside me leapt in hope. "So this is what you meant when you said that death was not the answer?"
"Yes."
"Then why the fuck," I practically exploded, "didn't you explain that to me at the time? Why keep something like that secret? If I'd known —"
"Would telling you have made you any less angry at my actions?"
"No, but I wouldn't have banished you." My gaze dropped briefly to his scars, and my stomach twisted again. "And you wouldn't have been hurt."
He made a short, sharp movement with his hand. "It is the price I paid for foolishness."
I frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means, I was foolish enough to believe you trusted me," he bit back, and there was no holding back his anger this time. It was evident in his voice, and it blistered through the link, strong enough that I took a step back in surprise. "Foolish enough to believe you would understand why I would never harm you."
"But I do trust you —"
"No, you do not," he cut in again. "Always, in everything I do, you search for a motive."
"Because there always has been one!" My voice rose again, but I couldn't help it. "You, the Raziq, my father, Hunter – hell, even Jak – every one of you came into my life wanting something from me. It was not about me. It was never just about me."
"You know that was not the case with the two of us. Not in the end."