Chapter 101 How could you?
Sage's POV
"But it wasn't a fair fight, was it? She's Blood Sisters, Sage. She's been training her whole life for situations exactly like this. You've been training for a few weeks with me teaching you basic self-defense." Ryder's voice cracked. "What did you think was going to happen?"
"I thought I was strong enough. I thought your training was enough to give me a chance." I wiped at my face with shaking hands. "I thought wrong."
Ryder turned away from me and braced his hands on the back of the couch, his shoulders tense. "So what now? You just accept that you have to marry Diego because you lost a fight?"
"I don't know. I don't know what happens now." My voice came out small and broken. "Elena said if I don't honor the deal, I'll find out what happens to people who break their word to the Blood Sisters. She made it sound like refusing would be worse than just going through with the marriage."
"Everything about this is wrong. The contract, the threats, Elena showing up here in the middle of the night to challenge you to some barbaric trial by combat." Ryder turned back to face me. "And the worst part is that your own brother is pushing you toward this marriage like it's the answer to all our problems when we both know it's not."
"I know."
"Do you? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're giving up. It looks like you're accepting that you have no choice and you're just going to walk into Diego's arms because everyone keeps telling you it's inevitable." His eyes were intense on mine. "Is that what you want? To give up?"
"No. But I don't know what else to do." I sank down onto the couch and put my head in my hands. "I'm out of options, Ryder. I've tried everything I can think of and it all leads back to the same place. The contract exists, my father signed it, and everyone with power seems determined to make sure I honor it."
"Then we find more options. We keep fighting until we find something that works." Ryder sat down beside me and pulled me against his chest. "But you can't make decisions like this alone anymore. You can't go off and gamble your future without talking to me first. We're in this together or we're not in it at all."
"I'm sorry. I should have called you. I should have thought it through instead of just reacting." I pressed my face into his shirt and felt his arms tighten around me. "I just wanted it to be over. I wanted to win and be free and not have to think about Diego or the Blood Sisters or any of this anymore."
"I know. But it doesn't work like that." He kissed the top of my head. "We're going to figure this out. We're going to find a way to break that contract or invalidate it or something. But you have to trust me enough to include me in the plan."
"I do trust you."
"Then prove it. No more secret deals with Elena. No more making choices that affect both of us without talking to me first." He pulled back to look at my face. "Can you promise me that?"
"I promise."
We sat there in the quiet of the living room, holding onto each other while the weight of what I had done settled over us like a blanket. I lost the fight with Elena, which meant I had lost my chance at freedom through single combat. But sitting here with Ryder's arms around me, feeling his heartbeat steady against my cheek, I realized that maybe fighting wasn't the only way out.
Maybe there was another answer we hadn't found yet. Something that didn't involve fists or threats or gambling everything on a single moment.
I just had to hope we found it before my five days ran out and I had to get on a plane to Arizona.
The sound of the front door opening made us both look up. I realized I was so deep in thoughts that I didn't hear his truck pull into the driveway. For some reason, he came in through the back door and dropped his keys heavily on the kitchen counter.
I pulled away from Ryder and wiped at my face, trying to make myself look less like I had been crying. But when Jaxon walked into the living room and saw us sitting there, his expression shifted from tired to alert in an instant.
"What's going on?" he asked, looking between us. "What happened?”