lk

gh every instinct scr

ime seeming to stretch, his fury pressin

power, thick and heavy

ough something unseen held him back. The tension was

voice barely a breath bu

d unrecognizable. Beneath the feral glow,

oice was sharp, command

ng the enforcers who str

ch of them feeling the weigh

eart betrayed me, pulling me closer, ur

voice steady despite th

n barked. "He

one. The bond between us thrummed faintly, lik

ted through the air, his claws flexing, as thou

his voice raw and desper

I

brushed against his hand. The moment our s

ltered into s

from a place deeper than thought. "I know you're

ery flicker of light and shadow. "You don't know what you're

r. My palm cupped his cheek, the heat of his skin searing

moment, his claws retracted, the redness in his ey

, a crack in the storm that allowed th

d, his voice so faint I

ords carrying everything I couldn't say, the uns

bout to take. His fingers brushed against mine, the barest of touche

" he said, the anguish

ed closer, my forehead touching his, grounding hi

as he closed his eyes, the war wit

two worlds-the one that demanded he dest

, his voice cracked and broken. "I'

rs slipping down my cheeks, each drop a promis

he fierce crimson of a creature bent on destruction. They were stormy gra

trembling as his hand cupped

bond between us or the unspoken need to bridge the chasm th

with a hunger that matched the depth

n't ge

sn't

a collision of every

, of the walls we had built

even. His forehead rested against mine, and for a fleet

ispered, his voice trembling. "

oice steady despite the storm of emotions within me

this

around me, pulling me closer, ancho

I could feel it-his humanity returning,

h crossed a line we could never uncross.

etween us, something changed. His bo

his eyes closing as he sank into unconsciousness, leavi

ull of disdain, snapping me

Dowager's voice, deep and filled with anno

my heart skipping a beat as

down by the enforcers, but my focus