Chapter 24 · The Bloodline Lie

"Get away from me, Kane!"

I shoved his chest. Hard. It was like hitting a brick wall.

He didn't budge. Instead, his hand clamped around my wrist, pinning it against the cold stone of the balcony. He leaned in. His breath was hot against my ear, smelling of winter air and something metallic—like old coins and adrenaline.

"You think I'm letting you run back to that rat-hole of a family?" His voice was a low growl that vibrated right through my bones. "After what you just did to the noise in my head?"

"I didn't do anything!" I snapped, yanking my arm. "It was a fluke. A glitch. I'm not your medicine, Kane."

He chuckled. It was a dark, jagged sound. He stepped closer, crowding me until my back hit the railing. The heat radiating off him was a physical force, making the fine hairs on my arms stand up. He didn't touch me anywhere else, but the distance between us was barely an inch. Suffocating. Like the air right before a lightning strike.

"A fluke?" He tilted his head, eyes scanning my face with predatory hunger. "The roar stopped, Elara.