Emberwood the sorcerer’s apprentice.

She declined his offer to beat him up, which didn’t really surprise him in hindsight. Losing her mate and father of her child was not something she was going to bounce back from quickly. He was used to her pretending like things didn’t matter to her as much as they did. But this clearly really really mattered. Enough that she couldn’t pretend.

Her question was utterly baffling to him, though. It did paint quite the picture for him, though he was at a loss to understand how on earth she and Bronco had gotten to a point where he needed space from her. Fig had always thought Bronco had been smitten with Fennec since they’d been kids. After all that time, why would he want her to leave him alone after he finally got her?

But that wasn’t even the most baffling part. It was the question itself. ”I would tell you,” Fig answered, trying not to make it sound like he thought her question was dumb—it was just so obvious he didn’t understand why there would be an alternative. He fumbled for a moment, not sure how to address the rest of it when it seemed she didn’t know why it was happening either. But still.

”It’s hard to imagine a world where I would ever want space between us, so I would guess that you wouldn’t expect me to ever want it either. Why would you assume I was looking for space if I didn’t ask for it, when it’s something neither of us can imagine me ever wanting?” he continued, uncertain of what he said would upset her more or make her feel better, ”Look, I don’t know the whole story so maybe I’m missing something. But I’m 99% sure that you aren’t crazy. I don’t think anyone can be expected to know things that are never said.”