Chapter 26 · The Gate That Betrayed Us

“Calian, look at me.”

His claws stopped an inch from my throat.

Not hands. Not anymore.

Black nails curved from his fingers, sharp enough to open my skin without effort. His eyes burned gold beneath a hard, dark brow, and his breath dragged across my face in hot, broken pulls. The beast had taken his body, but I still knew the man buried somewhere behind those teeth.

“Calian,” I said again, keeping my voice low. “You know me.”

His head jerked to the side. A growl shook the stones beneath our knees.

“I know your name,” he snarled. “I know your blood.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

His claws pressed closer. The point of one nail kissed my throat.

I didn’t move. If I flinched, he would see fear. If he saw fear, whatever was left of Calian might drown in it.

Behind us, the fortress bells hammered through the night.

One. Two. Three.

Not an alarm from the outer wall.

A warning from the western watchtower.

Marcus had reached the valley.

“Your army is here,” I whispered.

The beast’s lips pulled back from his teeth. “Let them come.”

“They’re not coming for you.