Cassian hears it too. His shoulders tense. Eyes darken. That earlier edge returns, sharper now.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Talon drags a chair with a long scrape and drops it beside me, way too close.
“So,” he says, voice light but watching everything, “when you glitched earlier, where exactly did you go?”
I say nothing.
He leans back, stretching like a cat. “Just curious. You’ve got dirt all over you. Moss on your back. And, huh… those are Cassian’s clothes.”
I smooth my palms over my thighs, keeping my expression blank. “Some random garden. Woke up in a pile of dirt and had to crawl my way back. Super traumatic. Felt like being peeled inside out and shoved through a hole in the sky. And yeah, Cassian lent me some clothes earlier.”
Talon lets out a low whistle. “Damn. Peeled inside out? Shoved through a hole?”
He leans in, eyes gleaming.
“Careful, Little Grim. Say it like that, and someone might think you’re talking about sex.”
I freeze.
Cassian turns his head, slowly. Like a wolf catching movement out of the corner of its eye.
“What did you just say?” he asks.
Talon shrugs, still smiling. “Why? Sounds familiar?”
Bad feeling. Real bad.
Cassian clearly has it too.
“You got something to say?” he growls.
“Me?” Talon blinks innocently. “Nope.”
“Sure sounds like you do.” A beat of silence. “Spit it out or shut up.”
Another pause.
Then, finally, Talon lets out a dry laugh. “Alright then. I’ll say it.”
He leans in slightly, voice low and biting.
“I just think it’s funny. You act like you don’t want her. Like she’s beneath you, someone—sorry,something—you’d never touch. And then what? First chance you get her alone, you fuck Little Grim?”
Cassian goes still.
Not the kind of stillness that hesitates.
The kind that kills.
My throat goes dry.
But Talon keeps going, meaner now. Unapologetic.
“Didn’t even bother hiding it. Car smelled like a goddamn brothel. No wonder you two rolled in the dirt afterward, trying to scrub the scent off. Too much to handle, yeah?”
Cassian doesn’t move at first.
