Chapter 14 · Blood Price

"Step closer, Elara. Now."

Kane didn't shout. He didn't have to. That low vibration hit me right in the chest, making my heart hammer. He was gripping that obsidian blade—blacker than the shadows in the room—and the edge looked sharp enough to split a soul in half.

I didn't budge. I stayed pinned against the heavy oak door, breath coming in short, jagged hitches.

"You're shaking," I spat. I hoped he couldn't tell my own knees were barely holding up. "The great Savage King is actually trembling. What's the matter? Lost your grip on me?"

He lunged.

It was a blur of raw power. One second he was five feet away; the next, his hand locked around my throat. He wasn't squeezing, but he pinned me hard against the wood. The obsidian blade didn't touch my skin, but the cold radiated off the stone. He was so close I could smell the metallic tang of blood and scorched earth.

"You think this is a game?" he hissed, face inches from mine. His eyes weren't gold anymore. They were a deep, bruised crimson. "You're not a guest here. You're a glitch. A mistake in the bond that I'm going to fix."