The door behind me shook again, but the lock held. Kaelric’s howl tore through the air, half man, half beast.
The Watchers surged all at once, pressing me too far, too fast. A shockwave of raw power exploded from Valkaryn, throwing them backward, but they recovered quickly.
'I could end them all right now, but then I fear you will be too weak to win the trial,'she warned.
'No. Just wait. I’ve got this.'I steadied my breathing, eyes flicking to the locked door. If I could get there, Kaelric could finish this.
Two Watchers sent more ropes of binding magic. I cut through them without effort, but it was a distraction.The third hurled a glowing orb I didn’t see until it burst across my back.
White-hot agony lit my spine, and I screamed, dropping to my knees. My muscles locked, every nerve ending on fire.
One Watcher charged, sword raised high. If Valkaryn didn’t act, I was finished.
We would have to take our chances in the trial.
“STOP!” Kaelric’s voice roared from the broken window, the single word carrying so much authority that the Watcher froze mid-strike. Power slammed into the room like a physical force, settling over all of us with suffocating weight.
“Unlock this door,” Kaelric commanded, his voice steady and edged with lethal intent. The pressure of his power grew heavier, intensifying. One Watcher growled in defiance, but his legs moved stiffly toward the door, as if yanked by invisible strings.
'Is… is Kaelric controlling him?'I asked Val, in shock at what I was seeing.
There was silence from Valkaryn, then,'Yes. And it’s forbidden to do so unless to a fellow wolfkin under his command. Punishable by death.'
The Watcher above me stayed frozen, sword trembling in his grip. The second stood rigid, watching, as the third unlocked the door with jerky, unwilling movements.
The instant the lock gave, Kaelric burst inside. His attack was a blur of claws and steel, a killing storm. I shut my eyes until silence and blood were the only things left.
Then his arms were around me, pulling me from the floor as if I were made of glass.
“I’m so sorry. I should have been there to protect you.” His voice broke against my skin, his healing power already flooding through me, knitting my cheek and chasing the pain on my back away.
“All because you were hungry,” I managed, trying to tease, but my voice came out harder than intended.
He didn’t laugh. His gaze locked onto mine, the green in his eyes burning with something fierce and unguarded. He leaned in until our foreheads touched, breath mingling.
“I’m in love with you, little human,” he whispered. “You are my mate. No mistakes.”
I inhaled those words like the first breath of air after drowning. My heart pounded so hard it covered the hum of the train, the world narrowing to the space between us. Then his lips met mine.
The kiss was fierce and consuming, tasting of wild heat and iron, of a man who had almost lost me and wasn’t ready to let go. His hand cradled the back of my head, the other still pressed at my waist as if anchoring me in place. I melted into him, the tension of thefight bleeding away, leaving only the ache of wanting and the raw truth of what had just been said.
Somewhere beyond us, the train thundered on, but in that moment, there was only Kaelric, only the pulse of his heart against mine, and the heat of a kiss that promised there would be no turning back. His arms stayed around me, holding me like I was breakable, worth protecting. I didn’t want to pull away. I didn’t want the reality of the trials or the danger or the blood on the floor to seep back in. His lips moved against mine with a desperate tenderness, each kiss a silent vow I could feel all the way through my chest.
When he finally broke the kiss, his forehead rested against mine, our breaths mingling in the narrow space between us. His thumb brushed over my cheek, where moments ago blood had been, and I shivered, not from cold but from the way he looked at me, like I was the only thing in this world worth fighting for.
‘Vora shan,’he breathed in the wolfkin language.
‘It means, “my undoing,”’Valkaryn told me.
“We should get you somewhere safe,” he murmured, though his arms didn’t loosen.
I swallowed, still catching my breath. “Only if you come with me.”
His mouth curved slightly, a flicker of something softer breaking through the sharp lines of his face. “Always.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The train hissed as it pulled into the station, brakes screeching against the track. I stepped onto the platform, exhaustion clinging to my bones from the Watcher attack, followed by a restless night. The only saving grace was that I got to lie in Kaelric’s arms for hours. We hid away in a train car together, keeping watch for another attack, which meant we had to stay alert. Our clothes still carried the faint scent of smoke from the Dregs. I felt emotionally and physically spent, but I had to press on.
