“Who was he?” she asked quietly.
I walked up beside her.
“A man who should have stayed gone.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No,” I agreed. “It’s not.”
I reached into my jacket slowly.
She stiffened.
When I pulled my hand out, a blade caught the morning light.
A dagger. Slim. Balanced. Matte black with a leather-wrapped handle.
Her eyes shifted to it immediately.
“You’re giving me a weapon?” she asked.
“I’m giving you control,” I corrected.
I stepped closer and held it out to her.
She hesitated only a second before taking it.
It looked almost delicate in her hand, until she tested the weight of it. Adjusted her grip. Her jaw set.
“You will wear it strapped to your thigh. At all times,” I said. “Under your dresses. Under everything.”
She looked up at me.
“You think I can use this?”
“I know you can.”
There was no softness in my voice now. No seduction.
Only certainty.
“You are not fragile, Sera,” I continued. “And I will not allow you to remain unarmed.”
She studied the blade for a long moment before nodding once.
“What else?” she asked.
I didn’t hesitate. “Ronan will train you.”
Her brows lifted slightly.
“With what?”
“A 9mm.”
The silence between us shifted.
Not fear. Resolve.
