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He clamped his other hand over her mouth, his blunt nails digging into her cheeks, frightening but not breaking the skin.

She squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered in distress.

I pushed against Ezra’s power again but found no give. Although I eclipsed Ezra in size and physical strength, his magic remained unparalleled.

“Cyn,” Zeke said, stepping forward, but stopping when Ezra lifted his other hand. “Leave her alone. We can go home without you hurting her. Don’t kill her.”

I let Zeke speak, not adding my own words. I knew anything I said now in my enraged state would provoke Cyn.

“I won’t kill you,” Cyn said. She opened her eyes when he loosened his grip on her throat. “I won’t waste the energy.”

Her eyes narrowed, but her scent gave away her true feelings. Her fear when I came to her on the sidewalk paled in comparison to this. She believed Cyn would kill her this time.

“But I’m tired of dragging this out,” he said, lowering his hand from her mouth. “We’re going to see if your blood will get us home.”

The air around Cyn rippled and blurred before returning to normal, leaving his alternate form looming with his clawed hand around her throat.

She gasped, eyes widening, terror pouring off her as she struggled against his hand at her throat.

A surge of Ezra’s power flooded through me, reinforcing his hold. He knew I’d go for them. I couldn’t speak under the weight of his power even if I tried.

“Cyn, stop it. You’re scaring her,” Zeke said, finally finding his courage.

Cyn chuckled. “What’s the matter, little human? Afraid?”

I felt her fear ease at his dismissive tone that sounded more like the Cyn she knew, prompting her own dismissive response.

“Fuck you. You don’t scare me.”

He scoffed. “False bravado won’t save you.” He pinned her with his hips. “Now, let’s see if your blood does more than smell delicious.”

“Cyn, let her go!” I pushed my power against Ezra’s when Cyn lifted a clawed hand. But my worry for Rae distracted me, and I couldn’t maintain control. My knees buckled under the force of Ezra’s command.

Ezra sighed, repeating his earlier words. “He won’t kill her.”

Zeke looked at him, eyes glassy. “How do you know that?”

“She’s too important to his freedom from the human plane. And if there is even a chance she is his Nyrith, he won’t risk his sanity.”

I hadn’t considered that.

When Nyrith mates died unnatural deaths, the severed magical bond often shattered the mind of their surviving partner, leaving them broken and catatonic or insane.

“Get it over with,” she said, lifting her chin in opposition as best she could with his hand around her throat. “I want you out of here.”

Cyn brought his claw to her face, holding it there, staring into her eyes.

“Well? What are you waiting for?”

The broken sound that left his throat surprised me almost as much as the kiss that followed—one she didn’t protest.

Leaning into him, she clutched the front of his shirt.

When he broke the kiss, his forehead rested against hers as their ragged breaths mingled. “I don’t want to see your face again,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “You’ve brought nothing but trouble to our lives.” He paused before speaking, his voice breaking. “I wish I’d never met you.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, and his eyes opened.

An ache bloomed in my chest as a tear slid down her cheek. His words cut deeper than his claws ever could, and I experienced everything. The intensity of her hurt burned through me like a firestorm.