His Gentleness

[Rosalie’s POV]

“Right.”

Sighing, I close my eyes while the pain I’m feeling continues to radiate through me. I didn’t know why, but I was disappointed by Diego’s answer to my question, even though I now knew what he wanted from me. I was a tool to him, nothing more, nothing less. Once I absorbed the darkness that was plaguing his land, I would no longer be useful.

“Don’t try to feign passing out again.”

Snapping my eyes open, I look toward Annemarie, who is sleeping peacefully just on the other side of the room we are in.

“She’s suffering greatly,” I murmur, remembering how harsh the darkness he forced me to absorb from her was. “She must be strong.”

“The strongest,” he admits, taking me. “Much stronger than I could ever imagine being.”

Eyes widening, I take in Diego’s expression as he takes in the woman on the bed. What was she to him? A lover, maybe? For him to be so desperate to help her, she had to be important, but how important?

This was the second time that he spoke so gently