“Just give us a chance, Red.”
Sai’s no longer pale. His markings blare brightly, beautifully, surrounding him in crackling blue, and his eyes pierce me with fierce determination.
“Please, baby.” When he stands, all the men lock onto him, but Sai only looks at me. “We’ll make it work, we’ll never lie, never hurt you.”
My heart thuds at his earnest tone, his intense gaze, how he begs not just with words but his entire body. Even his fingers crawl closer over the table.
I glance away. Shit. I can’t look at him. Not when he sounds so… feels... “I don’t—”
Crackling dances over my legs, I look down and Sai appears, beneath the table, on hisknees, staring up at me.
I never saw him move. But he’s here and he’s… wincing. Dark slivers and fingers—Kane’s—grip his hair, tugging at his curls and holding him just out of arm’s reach.
“You idiot,”Ezekial hisses. Metallic flickers swirl around Kane’s darkness, adding another barricade.
When Sai continues to strain, Ezekial tries again. Softer. “Sai, this isn’t going to help.”
“And you standing there saying sweet fuck all is?”
They glare at each other, but I stare at Sai. I hadn’t seen him this close in… weeks. He’s beautiful, always, but there’s an edge to him that’s sharpened. The grit of his jaw, the fire in his eyes, the darkness threading through the blue.
And somehow I know he’s holding himself back. That he could break free from the brothers if he chose to veer closer to the dark.
But he hasn’t. Isn’t. He’s proving himself to me, and maybe a little to them.
“Let him go.” My order creates a long pause, followed by pure silence.
Then the slivers withdraw from Sai’s hair, slowly followed by Kane’s fingers.
“Let him try,” Julien says, sounding closer than before, to the side where Ezekial is sat.“Sai.”His eyes briefly flick to Julien.“Convince her.”
All through that brief, silent conversation I wasn’t meant to be privy to, my eyes stay locked on Sai. He remains on his knees, staring up at me with those blinding eyes, and my fingers itch.
“Red, I know we don’t deserve you, but just let us try. We’ll do whatever it takes, whatever you want.” When a curl falls over his eye, it aches to keep my hand still. “Tell me what you want, baby, and I’ll give it to you.”
I stay silent. Not knowing what to say. Not knowing what I really want.
His markings pulse, somehow matching my racing heart. “You wanna hurt me? Done.” My breath catches, but he doesn’t stop. “I’ll give you my blades. Make me bleed. Carve your name into my skin. Any. Thing.”
But I don’t want that. I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want to hurt any of them. The thought makes my stomach curdle, and I find my fingers latching again to the stone beneath my blouse.
Sai’s eyes drop to it, and the room darkens.
Kane leans closer.“Sai…”
“You know we’re immortal, Red.” His voice is lower, deeper. It crawls over my skin as his gaze drags back up. Now, it’s black. “You’ll have to kill us. Because we won’t stop. I’llneverstop.”
Kane’s black bindings return in an instant.“Ground yourself, or I’ll remove you.”
Sai’s gaze hazes over, he sways a little, but then shakes his head, steadying as he blinks away the black rupturing the blue.
“Whatever it takes, we’ll do it, Red. Just give us another chance, let us try and fix this.” It’s Sai’s voice again, but gritter. “Please, baby. Just… please.”
I can’t look at Sai. I can’t look atanyof them because my darkness is too close to the edge, bubbling, eager to reach out and take all that Sai promised.
“Whatever you decide, we will accept your decision, Jasmine,”Kane says, and I know it’s only to me.
Any decision? Even if I chose to leave? To be without them?
