Chapter 14 · Same Blade

"You think I staged it." Kael dropped the burned file on the table between them. "You think I hired trackers to smoke you out so I could play hero."

Sienna stood on the far side of the safehouse kitchen, arms crossed, every muscle locked. Her ribs still ached from the smoke. Her throat felt like she'd swallowed glass. "You opened that page right after they left. Convenient."

"Convenient," he repeated. Flat. No heat in it. That was worse than anger. "Yeah. Real convenient. I love getting shot at in burning buildings."

"You didn't get shot."

"Neither did you." He leaned back against the counter, watching her. "Because I was there."

She hated how steady his voice was. Hated how her wolf whined every time she looked at him. The bond was a constant ache now, worse since the fire, worse since he'd shielded her in the smoke and she hadn't shoved him off.

"The page says I wasn't the only survivor," she said. "You waited until now to tell me."

"I waited until you were alive to tell you." He pushed off the counter, took two steps toward her. She didn't move.