"That's... not a backstory."
"Sure it is." His grin widens. "I've always been drawn to flames. Even as a kid—couldn't resist them. The way they move, the way they consume, the way they transform everything they touch into something new."
He extends one hand, and fireblooms.
Actual fire—a small flame dancing across his palm, casting flickering shadows across his features.
"It's a gift," he says, watching the flame like it's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. "Or a curse. Depends on who you ask. My family thought curse. Tried to beat it out of me. When that didn't work, they sold me to people who thought they could weaponize it."
"Weaponize fire control?"
"Arsonist for hire." The flame extinguishes, leaving nothing but a faint trace of smoke. "That's what I became. Need a building destroyed? Call Blaze. Need evidence eliminated? Call Blaze. Need someone to suffer in the most painful way possible?" His smile turns dark. "Call Blaze."
"How did you end up here?"
"Same as Jett, more or less. Kai acquired me during a... transaction." He makes air quotes around the word. "His family was employing my services, and he decided he'd rather have me as pack than as hired help."
"You make it sound like he collected you," I observe.
"He did," Sage confirms. "Kai has a habit of finding broken things and claiming them before anyone else can."
My eyes drift to Kai.
He's still eating—cutting, chewing, swallowing—like this conversation is happening in another room entirely. But I can see the tension in his shoulders. The way his jaw tightens at certain words.
Broken things.
He claims broken things.
Is that what I am to him?
Another acquisition?
Another piece of his collection?
"So we're like our own unique ring of circus-crazed fanatics," I say, processing everything I've heard. "In the world of bloodshed and sin."
"Pretty much," Blaze agrees cheerfully.
"Yeah," Sage confirms.
"Essentially," Jett adds.
I look at Kai.
He hasn't said anything about himself. Hasn't shared his passions or his history or any of the things the others have revealed.
"Kai." My voice comes out more demanding than I intend. "Your turn."
"I don't share."
"Everyone else did."
"I'm not everyone else."
"No." I lean forward, meeting his dark gold gaze directly. "You're the pack leader. The one who collected all of us. The one whose father is trying to kill us. I think you owe us at leastsomething."
The silence stretches.
