This was the last thing she needed right now. But he deserved the truth. “Lucius, I’ll try to be as honest as I can. I have spent most of my life as my brother’s prisoner. I was humiliated, tortured, even raped. But of all the bad things that happened to me, there were two very good things: Bhacca and you. Bhacca became the dearest friend I’ve ever known. And you . . . you kept me sane. Without you, I wouldn’t be alive today. So . . . I owe you more than I will ever be able to repay.” Lucius started to respond, but Laylah stayed him with her hand. “You ask me if I love you. My answer is . . . I don’t know. Not because of any failure in you, but because of my own failures. I’m not an ordinary person, and I haven’t lived an ordinary life. Does that mean I’m incapable of love? Maybe it does. But I can tell you one thing for certain: I’m terrified of being forced back into that nightmare—so much so, that my other emotions are stunted. I honestly can’t tell you whether I love you or not, at least not in the way that you mean.
