He lifts his glass, takes a measured sip. "Then what did you come for? To murder me?"
I shrug, casual. "Would solve a lot of problems."
I've felt his power burning me before. I'm not stupid, nor suicidal enough to make the first move.
"And yet, you hesitate," he says, voice too calm for a man who knows his people are bleeding out on the floor. "Because you know I am stronger than you."
"Then you should be the one striking me down, oh, almighty Darius," I sneer. "But I know you won't. Because killing me would devastate Sage. And you wouldn't dare risk that, would you?"
He pauses mid-sip. His jaw clenches for a second. Then he nods. "True. I don't intend to kill you, Alasdair Darrow. Not unless you force my hand."
He sinks into his oversized power chair like some ancient prince deciding which heads to spare. He gestures to the empty seat across from him, but I don't move.
"What?" I grunt out. "Think using my birth name is gonna shake me? You read a dossier, good for you. You think that gives you any leverage?"
"I was merely acknowledging your full name. No tricks or games." He's composed, almost bored. Like this chaos barely touched him. Like he expected me.
Maybe he did.
I plant both hands on the desk, lean in close until I can smell the faint burn of whatever incense or aftershave he cloaks himself in. "You think you're the Big Bad now? Rolling into my town with your clean suits and fake smiles, playing savior to a woman you couldn't keep. I've been a nightmare since before your forest toddlers sprouted their first horns. You don't come for my wife and walk away without consequences."
He meets my glare, cool and unwavering. "I know what you are, Kayden. I've seen your past. Your savagery."
He leans in too, mirroring me. No fear. Just that infuriating stillness, like he's carved out of mountain rock. "And my hope is that Sage sees it too. That she finally understands the creature she's tied herself to."
I grin, feral. "Careful. Sounds like you're describing yourself."
He doesn't flinch. "I don't deny what I am. But Sage is a nymph. Life-aligned. No matter how much pain she's survived, no matter how sharp she's become, she is not built for monsters like you. And when she finds out what you did tonight, how many ofherpeople you butchered, do you think she'll fall back into your arms?"
He lets the silence settle like ash.
"She's trying to build something fragile and rare, a truce, maybe even peace, in this mess we're in. And you came in swinging, breaking everything she's trying to protect."
I clench my jaw, rage surging. "They weren't her friends. She'll get over it."
A muscle jumps in his cheek, gone almost before I catch it. Maybe he cares, but doesn't want to show it.
"Will she?" he asks. "Or will she finally see the monster you tried so hard to keep leashed for her?"
"She knows what I am," I snarl.
"Shethinksshe knows," he corrects, gaze sharpening. "But she's neverfeltit like this before. There's a difference."
I laugh, cold and humorless. But something in his words hits me in the gut and lodges there.
"It didn't even take much, did it?" he continues, tilting his head. "One dinner, one ride, and you're tearing through throats. I wonder how many bodies you left for her to mourn tonight."
I shift my weight, the tension crawling up my spine. There's a coil of something in my stomach that's colder than rage. Something like regret.
"You think I care?" I spit.
"I think you're starting to realize the cost of your tantrum," he replies, setting his glass down. "There's a back door. If you're not planning to attack me, I suggest you use it."
The urge to smash his face into his designer desk burns through me. Blood and bone. That's what I want to leave himwith. But I can see it now—he's waiting for that. One wrong move, one impulse too far, and he'll burn me alive.
"Just like that? I'm dismissed from your little business meeting?" I laugh, bitter as ash.
"I think you've overstayed your welcome,vampire," he says, and there it is—his eyes flash green, power swelling in the room.
