Axella's P.O.V
"Because I love you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion as he brushed a gentle kiss across my cheek, wiping away a stray tear. Love? Was Kael sick? Had something addled his mind during the fight? Maybe he'd taken a nasty blow to the head and this was some delirious fantasy. What in the world was he going on about?
"What was that?" I echoed, my voice barely a rasp. "Did you just say you love me?" The very idea struck me as absurd, a cruel joke the universe was playing on me. The Kael I knew wouldn't dream of uttering such words. He despised me, couldn't stand the sight of me. He was the one who'd rejected me without a second thought, who recoiled from my touch as if I was fire and he was ice. And now, here he was, confessing his love while simultaneously claiming I
