She blinked, mind snapping into the training that had been drilled into her since childhood. “That’s neutral ground?”
“Was.” His voice was clipped. “Now it’s a crater. Trees snapped at the roots. Steel melted to slag. Blood...wrong.”
Heat surged through her veins, spiked and unsettled. “What is it with you and blood?” The question came out hard, brimming with accusation.
Gods, he was obsessed.
Silence.
“And what do you mean, wrong?” she demanded.
He bit his lip. Just barely. Like he was debating whether to answer.
The pause stretched, scraping at her nerves. Ella despised silence more than anything.
“What kind of magic could do that?” she pushed, refusing to back down, tired of unanswered questions.
His eyes locked on hers. “The kind that isn’t supposed to exist anymore.” His voice was flat, his gaze unreadable. “Not since the realms were sealed.”
They stared at each other, cautious and measuring.
He tossed her the cloak, thick and fur lined. She caught it midair without breaking eye contact.
“I know you understand what’s happening,” she said. “Tell me why you’re hiding it from your kingdom.”
Jakobav’s jaw tensed, but she pressed on.
“I’ve spent time with your people. No one has said a single word about Threadshifting.”
He flinched at the word and didn’t answer right away.
But that silence was all the answer she needed.
“You knew,” she said quietly.
Jakobav’s voice dropped and he looked deadly serious. “It’s being dealt with.”
She folded the cloak in her arms. “Then why haven’t you warned Dravaryn?”
His gaze deepened. “I suspect you already know the answer to that, Princess.”
“Fuck.” She swallowed.
He knows.
Jakobav stared into her eyes, then stepped closer.
Ella’s breath caught, and she braced herself.
If there was ever a moment to destroy her, this was it. He loomed over her, massive and unrelenting, his strength obvious in the set of his shoulders. She was weaponless and unprepared, but she drew herself as tall as she could and met him with narrowed eyes, unflinching.
He leaned in slowly, deliberately, and whispered against her ear.
“I’ve known since the moment you crossed my wards…breachedmycastle…guttedmyguard…and bled onmysheets.”
A shiver raked down her spine.
Jakobav pulled back just enough to meet her gaze. Her heart stuttered. Her breath came in shallow pants. His voice was a low hum of velvet. “You know what they say about keeping your enemies closer…”
