“Yes, you are. You’re terrified. Terrified that I left you. Terrified that I found someone who treats me better. Terrified that I’m happier without you.” Each word hit him like a physical blow, making him flinch. “And you should be afraid, because everything you feared is true.”
His face contorted with fury. “He’s a monster! A demon! He’ll use you and discard you!”
“That’s rich coming from you,” I shot back. “In three days, Magnur has shown me more respect than you did in three years. He’s never once tried to control what I wear, who I talk to, how I behave. He‘s never made me feel small or stupid or worthless.”
“Because he’s manipulating you!” Trevor shouted, his calm facade cracking completely. “That’s what demons do! They find your weaknesses and exploit them!”
I laughed, the sound harsh and mirthless. “Oh, like telling me my skirts were too short because other men might look at me? Like saying my friends were toxic because they pointed out how controlling you were? Like gradually isolating me from everyone who cared about me?” I shook my head. “You’re projecting,Trevor. Everything you accuse him of is exactly what you did to me.”
Trevor’s expression tightened, his lips pressing into a thin line as he fought to regain his composure. “You don’t understand what’s at stake here,” he said finally, his voice deathly quiet. “I’m trying to save you.”
“From what?” I demanded. “From being happy? From being with someone who actually values me?”
“From being destroyed!” he shouted, slamming his hand against a nearby support column. “These creatures aren’t what they seem, Jade! My family has centuries of documentation—the manipulation, the violence, the destruction they cause. They look human, they act human, but they’re not. They’re dangerous. Unstable.”
“Unlike you,” I said dryly, “kidnapping your ex-girlfriend and planning to torture someone. Very stable.”
Trevor inhaled deeply, visibly forcing himself to calm down. When he spoke again, his voice had returned to that reasonable tone I’d grown to hate. “I know this seems extreme. I know you’re angry right now. But I’m doing this for us, for our future.”
“There is no ‘us,’” I said firmly. “There is no future. Not for you and me.”
“There will be,” he insisted, a disturbing certainty in his eyes. “Once I eliminate the interference, you’ll remember what we had. You’ll understand that everything I’ve done was necessary.”
I stared at him, truly seeing the depth of his delusion for the first time. “You genuinely believe that, don’t you? That after you kidnap me and torture someone I care about, I’ll just...what? Fall back in love with you? Forgive and forget?”
“You will,” he said with absolute conviction. “Because deep down, you know I’m right about him. About all of them. You just need to see it for yourself.”
He checked his watch again, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “And you will. Very soon.”
“You’re going to make him relive his worst nightmare,” I whispered, the full horror of it crashing over me.
“Only if you force my hand,” Trevor countered smoothly. “The choice is yours.”
The warehouse fell silent except for the distant drip of water from a leaky pipe and the faint humming of the wards surrounding me. Trevor moved to stand just outside the larger circle, his back to me as he stared expectantly at the warehouse’s main entrance. The only sign of his tension was the way he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists, betraying the nervousness his voice had managed to hide.
A distant metallic sound broke the silence followed by the rattling of a chain and the creak of a heavy door. Trevor straightened, a smile spreading across his face as he turned back to me.
“Showtime,” he whispered.
My heart hammered against my ribs as fear and hope waged war within me. Magnur was coming but he was also coming because of me, his judgment potentially clouded by worry, rushing headlong into a trap designed to exploit his deepest traumas.
Another sound echoed through the warehouse, a low, rumbling growl. Trevor’s smile widened as he stepped back into the shadows. “He’s here.”
Chapter thirteen
Freedom
Magnur
Jade was here. I could feel her presence like a phantom limb where our connection should be. The warehouse stretched before me, cavernous and dimly lit, shadows pooling in the corners. My vision adjusted instantly, cataloging every detail and there, in a pool of sickly yellow light was Jade.
My world narrowed to a single point. Everything else fell away, her face was bruised, one eye swollen nearly shut, dried blood crusting at her temple and lip. But she was alive and breathing.
Mine. I took one step forward, my focus locked on freeing her and destroying whatever had harmed her.
“That’s far enough, demon.”
The voice came from behind Jade’s chair, and a figure stepped into view, positioning himself where I could see him clearly. Trevor. The warlock descendant. He looked absurdly ordinary but there was nothing harmless about the knife he now pressedagainst Jade’s exposed throat, the blade gleaming dully in the weak light.
