Chapter 26 · The Blood Price

"Tell me how to kill him, Justin!"

My shoulder slammed into Kane's chest.

He nearly went down.

I caught him before his knees hit the rubble, but his weight dragged me with him. His whole body shook in hard, violent bursts. Not fear. Not pain alone.

Something worse.

"Justin!" I shouted. "How do I stop this?"

Justin didn't even look at Kane. He stood ten feet away, turning one of the hunters' silver-tipped bolts between his fingers.

"You really want to know, Sia?" His mouth curved. "It's not a weapon problem. It's a mind problem."

"Try again."

"Kane isn't a king right now." Justin took one slow step closer. His boots crushed broken stone. "He's a starving animal. One wrong spark in that bond of yours, and he'll tear you apart just to taste something warm."

Kane's hand locked around my arm.

A growl rolled out of him. It didn't sound human.

"Don't listen to him," I said.

Kane lunged.

His knees buckled halfway through the motion. He hit the dirt hard enough to send dust into my face, but he didn't let go of me.