“Like hell I will,” Jade countered, scrambling after me. “It’s my apartment. My problem.”
I paused, turning to face her. “Jade,” I said. “This isn’t just about your apartment. He’s escalating. This is no longer just harassment.”
“All the more reason I should face him,” she insisted, her jaw set in a stubborn line. “I won’t hide while you fight my battles.”
I crossed the room, closing the distance between us. I cupped her face between my hands.
“Do you understand what will happen if I find him there?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “What I might do to someone who threatened you and violated your space?”
Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t look away.
“I need to know you’re safe if I’m going to think straight,” I continued, stroking my thumbs across her cheekbones. “If I’m worried about you or think you’re in danger, I won’t be able to handle this.”
My hands flexed against her skin involuntarily as I imagined Trevor in her apartment, touching her things, violating the sanctuary she’d built for herself after escaping him.
“Trevor is human, but he’s done something that is intended to harm you,” I explained, forcing my voice to remain steady. "I need to understand what we’re dealing with before I bring you anywhere near him.”
She studied my face for a long moment, her eyes tracking over features I knew were shifting slightly toward my true form despite my best efforts to maintain my human appearance. Finally, she nodded, her shoulders dropping in reluctant surrender.
“Fine,” she conceded, reaching up to cover my hands with her own. “But you keep your phone on. And you come back immediately.”
Relief flooded through me, though I kept my expression neutral. “I‘ll keep my phone on,” I agreed.
“And you won’t do anything reckless,” she pressed, her fingers tightening around my wrists. “Promise me.”
I hesitated. Years of survival had taught me never to make promises I couldn’t keep. “I’ll do what’s necessary to keep you safe,” I said instead, choosing my words carefully.
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s not what I asked.”
“I promise to return to you,” I said firmly, meaning every word. “As soon as I can.”
She sighed, a sound caught between frustration and concern. “Magnur, I’m serious. Don’t hurt him unless you absolutely have to. Don’t—“
“I won’t kill him unless he forces my hand,” I interrupted, the most honest promise I could make. “But I won’t let him continue to threaten you either.”
She bit her lip, clearly torn between her principles and her understanding of what Trevor‘s escalating behavior could mean.
“I’m going to check your apartment, see if I can find anything useful about his intentions, and return,” I said. “You’ll be safer here than anywhere else.”
“And what about you?” she asked softly. “Will you be safe?”
The question caught me off guard. Few had ever worried about my safety, I was the monster, a demon.
“I’ve survived worse than one obsessive human,” I assured her, leaning down to press my forehead against hers. “Much worse.”
“Be careful,” she whispered. “And come back to me.”
“Always,” I promised.
I reluctantly released her , allowing my hands to slide down to her shoulders for one final squeeze before stepping away.
“Lock the door behind me,” I instructed, pausing at the threshold. “Don’t open it for anyone but me.”
The sound of the deadbolt sliding into place behind me was a small comfort as I strode toward the stairwell, bypassing the elevator entirely. My body was already beginning to change, power building beneath my skin as I prepared to confront whatever awaited me at Jade’s apartment.
Trevor had made a grave mistake. He’d threatened what was mine.
It didn't take me long to get onto the roof of my building, the night air sharp and cold against my skin. I rolled my shoulders, feeling the pressure building beneath my skin. The transformation began at my core and spread outward, a rush of heat followed by the exquisite pain of rapid change. My shoulder blades split and extended, muscle and bone reforming asmassive wings emerged. With a deep breath, I launched myself from the roof’s edge. I angled my body southeast, wings finding the rhythm that would carry me fastest through the night. Below, the city was a grid of lights and dark patches, humans moving through their lives unaware of what passed overhead. Most never looked up. Those who did might glimpse a shadow against the stars, nothing more.
