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I stared at it. “Do I look like I know how to use that?”

“You seem resourceful.”

“That is not training.”

“Point the sharp end away from yourself.”

“Wow. Texas Ranger school sounds rigorous.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. Then the Hellmark pulsed. Not outward. Inward.

The tether jerked hard enough that Knox’s breath caught. Outside, the scratching stopped.

All three shadows turned toward the cabin at once.

My blood went cold.

“They’re not here for the cabin,” I whispered.

Knox’s grip tightened on his sword.

“They’re here for you,” I said.

The black and red tether sharpened in my Sight, slicing through my blur for one brutal second. It shot past the cabin wall, past the shadows outside, and into the dark like a signal flare.

The creatures answered. Not with sound. With obedience. Every shadow outside dropped low.

Waiting.

Listening.

And far beyond the Wards, something pulled again.

Harder.

The cabin lights flickered. The bronze sigils along the walls dimmed. Knox took one step toward the door.

I grabbed his sleeve. “No.”

His eyes stayed on the entrance. “They’ll attack the Ward until it weakens.”

“Then fighting them outside is exactly what the Hellmark wants.”

That stopped him. The mark flared brighter, as if offended I had figured it out.

I laughed once, breathless and terrified. “Oh, you ugly little bastard. You want him outside, don’t you?”

Knox looked at me.

“The tether learns through contact,” I said quickly. “House. Wards. Cabin. If you fight those things out there, using Dragon Magic right against the cabin protections, it gets more data. It’s baiting you.”

The shadows slammed into the cabin. The walls shook. A jar fell off the shelf and shattered.

Knox did not move toward the door. Knox the Texas Ranger had heard me. Knox the Texas Ranger understood. Knox the Texas Ranger looked furious.

Good. Furious was better than self-sacrificial.

“Then we don’t give it what it wants,” he said.