Talle

dn't just drop; it plummeted, suck

a room fracturing with noise. He dwarfed Connor, making the "Golden Prince" lo

broken glass on the floor before shifting to Jana, who had stop

e looke

he line of my jaw, his touch a shocking, paradoxical gentleness against my stinging skin. His

did t

rough the floorboards. It was a demand fo

fing out his chest in a vain a

its usual confidence, cracking slightly at the edges. "Thi

dn't deign to look at his brothe

rannon sa

n. He knew that Brannon lived by a code that the rest of them had

the words tumbling out too fast.

a silent threat digging

hand on my wrist. The

I never realized the blood wasn't his-it was the blood of the men who threat

hand away

t me,"

n the air, sharp

e went red.

non

onnor to scramble back as if burned. Brannon placed himself

nced from the stage, his voice trembli

ke the tension

ly. He looked down at me. Up close, he smelled of rain and

e?" Brannon

f I was sure about what I was about to do. He knew. Somehow, he knew

e," I wh

said. "I'm rig

by two of his own soldiers who sensed the vola

the designated mark

the crowd. Then, I shifted my gaze past them, locking eyes with the monst