Chapter 33 · Blood-Red Standoff

"What the hell are you looking at?" My voice came out deeper than it should've, rough enough to shake the torch brackets.

The High Guard stared at my eyes.

Then his hand slid toward his sword.

"Your eyes," he whispered. "They're red. That's impossible. No omega has—"

"Is that all you've got?" I stepped toward him before I could stop myself. Heat surged through my veins. Not mine. Kane's. "A little curiosity before you choke?"

Behind me, Justin shoved himself off the dungeon floor. Blood streaked his mouth. Dirt covered his once-perfect uniform.

He looked pathetic.

His eyes still held panic.

"Sir!" Justin blurted. "She's sick. It's some kind of fever. I've got her under control!"

I turned my head.

Kane laughed inside my skull.

Not a real laugh. A dark pulse. A command crawling beneath my skin.

Break him.

Show him what it feels like to be nothing.

"Under control?" I repeated.

Justin took one step back. "Sia—"

I grabbed his collar and yanked him close.

His boots scraped over the stone. He was stronger than me yesterday.