“Problem how?”
I open my mouth. Close it. Open it again.
It should beobvious.
The heat under my ribs swells, anger or humiliation or both, and before I snap, Talon rises and saunters across the room.
“These are just scratches compared to what they want to do to her,” he says, showing the fresh red lines along his arms. “They aim for her face. Her eyes. Her hair. And if they can’t get in, they camp outside forever.”
“We’ve already boarded up most of the windows. Left some to monitor the situation,” Cassian adds, voice low, measured. “And we’ll need to resupply soon. Skye hasn’t set foot outside since the last hit.”
Right on cue, a crow slams its body against the nearest pane, talons scraping, feathers exploding like shrapnel against the glass.
Painsmilesat the sound.
“I still fail to see how that’s my problem,” he purrs.
I blink at him. Twice. Slowly. So I don’t stab him with my mind.
“You’re kidding,” I say flatly.
He isn’t.
“Why would it concern me?” Pain asks, cold. “When I made it abundantly clear I don’t need you for my duties. It’s you who always needs help. You who always drags us into disaster because of your…” His eyes flick toward the men again. “urges.”
There it is. The judgment. Dense enough to choke on.
I breathe in through my nose.
I could scream.
Or ignite.
Or throw furniture.
Instead I recognize the truth under the venom: jealousy. Petty and raw. He’s still stuck in his half-grown metaphysical chrysalis while I’m over here fumbling through a brand-new mortality with skin and nerves and wants. He nearly sacrificed himself for me not that long ago. The sting isn’t about inconvenience.
It’s aboutreplacement.
“It’s only a matter of time before they hit something fatal,” I grit out. “If I step outside, I might die.”
“Then don’t go outside.”
“Ihave to. There are things I need to do.”
He blinks once, slow and incredulous. “Like what?”
The question isn’t curiosity. It’s a dare.
Prove how much you need me.
“If you want help, then include me in whatever grand secret you’re hiding,” he says. “What do you want from me? I assumedyou were busy wasting time with these three until the next wraith arrived.”
My pulse spikes hard in my throat. I glance to the others. Nathaniel’s the only one who doesn’t flinch. He just smiles at me, small, knowing, like he already heard my answer before I speak it aloud.
“Iamdoing that,” I say, lifting my chin. “But I figured I could multitask.”
“Multitask,” Pain echoes, bone-dry.
