My fingers curl around her throat.
Her breath hitches.
"No," I say, voice all steel now. "No more games. No more speeches. I'm done asking."
I tighten just enough for her pulse to jump under my grip.
"I'm going to break you, inch by inch. Not out of cruelty, but because it's the only way to get you back. You'll fight me. You'll hate me. And then, one day, you'll beg. Not because I demand it. Because you'llwantto."
She squirms. I hold her tighter. And for the first time since she turned, I see a flicker of genuine confusion and doubt. The tiniest crack in the facade.
Good.
I push her hard against the cold stone, lean close, my voice a promise and a warning.
"You should know by now, Sage. I'll never let you go. If I have to follow you into the abyss, I'll do it with open arms. If pain's the only language you understand, then I'll speak itfluently. We'll burn together, if we must. But I'm not letting you vanish into this void without me."
I release her slowly, let the silence stretch. She doesn't speak. Doesn't smile. No snarling or venomous words.
I got to her. And she knows it.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Darius
When Kayden comes upstairs, his expression has shifted. It's harder, contained, but not broken like the others were. I barely have time to note the change before my phone buzzes. Ru's name lights the screen. I read the message and curse under my breath.
"Bad news?" Asher asks.
It's only the four of us in the room now—Asher, Kayden, the druid, and me. The younger vampires remain upstairs, resting, and others are checking the perimeter.
"A fellow satyr from the Euro-region has just landed at a private airport nearby," I say. "Ruaidhrí will buy us time, but we no longer have the luxury of waiting. If this satyr knows, others will follow."
Asher turns to Maeve. "Is there anything else you can tell us? How do we reach her?"
Maeve inhales, her face tightening into a careful composure. "It's complicated. She is bound to you two. Bonded to death, in a way. That bond preserves feeling, but it's twisted. Darius and Sage share a satyr–nymph bond that's different. It may be the only thread left. Yet I don't know if it is strong enough now."
I don't shield the truth. "It is not there," I say. The admission tastes like iron. "Darkness swallowed it."
Maeve nods, letting my words settle.
"So, as you see, it's uncharted territory," she continues. "I know almost nothing about dark nymphs. References were erased long ago."
"Why is their elimination so important?" Asher asks, turning to me.
I weigh my words before I speak. "Because dark nymphs can be turned into weapons. That's my conclusion, at least. I was given a duty, not reasons for it."
"And you never questioned that?" Asher asks, surprised.
"Not until now." I meet his gaze. "They are rare. It was never personal before."
"We all go down to her. Together." Kayden's voice cuts through the room. The edge is there as usual, but tempered by something close to sincerity.
"All three at once?" Asher asks, eyes flicking between me and his brother.
Kayden looks to me, then nods, his jaw set.
"Something changed," I say. Not a question.
