"Stop pretending you're the saint in this story, Kael. It's boring."
I leaned back against the cold marble of the kitchen counter, crossing my arms. I knew I looked like a mess—my clothes were singed, my energy core was a flickering ember in my chest—but I still had enough spite to keep my chin up.
Kael didn't even look up from the tea he was pouring. He moved with this agonizing, precise grace, like everything in his life was a choreographed dance. The steam curled around his face, softening the sharp line of his jaw, but it didn't fool me.
"I'm not pretending," he said, his voice smooth and irritatingly calm. "I'm simply providing the sanctuary you agreed to. Or did we forget the terms of the contract?"
"The contract says you protect me," I snapped, stepping forward. My boots clicked sharply on the floor. "It doesn't say I have to like the way you look at me. Like I'm some stray dog you're deciding whether to keep or put down."
He finally turned. Those gold-flecked eyes locked onto mine, and for a second, the air in the room felt heavy, like the atmospheric pressure had just dropped. He didn't move, but I felt the sudden, invisible weight of his presence pushing against me.
"Maybe I'm just wondering how someone so destructive can look so... fragile," he murmured.
He moved then. It wasn't a rush; it was a glide. Before I could even blink, he was in my space. He didn't touch me, but he was close enough that I could smell the scent of cedar and something metallic—like ozone after a lightning strike. I could feel the heat radiating off him, a stark contrast to the chill settling in my own bones.
I didn't back down. I tilted my head back, staring him down. "Fragile? I've burned down cities, Kael. I've rewritten the laws of energy in sectors you're too scared to even visit."
"And look where that got you," he whispered. He leaned in closer, his breath ghosting over my ear. "Hunted. Broken. Begging for a room in my house. You're not a queen anymore, Nova. You're a guest. And guests follow the rules."
I felt a surge of irritation, and without thinking, I reached up to shove him back. My palm hit his chest, but it wasn't like hitting a person. It was like hitting a wall of reinforced steel. He didn't budge an inch. Instead, his hand shot up, his fingers wrapping around my wrist with a grip that wasn't violent, but was absolutely absolute.
He didn't pull me. He just held me there, my hand pinned to his chest, right over his heart. It was beating slow. Steady. Too steady.
"Let go," I hissed, my voice trembling more than I wanted it to.
"Make me," he replied. A small, thin smile touched his lips. It wasn't a kind smile. It was the smile of a man who knew exactly how much power he held and was enjoying the moment I realized it. "You want to see the real me? The one without the 'golden boy' mask?"
I tried to wrench my wrist away, but he tightened his hold, pulling me a fraction of an inch closer. Now I could feel the fabric of his white shirt rubbing against my knuckles. The tension between us was a living thing, a wire stretched to the breaking point.
"What's the matter?" he mocked softly. "Is the big, bad villain afraid of a little light?"
"I'm not afraid of you," I lied, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"Liar," he breathed.
He shifted his grip, his thumb grazing the sensitive skin of my inner wrist. The touch sent a jolt through me that had nothing to do with energy cores and everything to do with the way he was looking at me—like he wanted to dismantle me piece by piece just to see how I worked.
I glared at him, my eyes narrowing. "You think you're so pure. But I can see it. The darkness under the edges. You don't save people because you're good, Kael. You save them because you love the feeling of being the only thing they have left to cling to."
For the first time, the mask slipped. The smile didn't vanish, but it changed. It became something sharper, something predatory. He leaned down, his lips almost touching my forehead, his voice dropping to a dangerous, vibrating low.
"You're smarter than you look. Maybe that's why I'm actually starting to enjoy this."
I gasped, trying to twist away, but he stepped into me, pinning me between the counter and his body. The physical proximity was suffocating. I could feel every line of him, the hard planes of his chest and thighs. My breath was coming in short, shallow bursts. I wanted to scream, to blast him through the wall, but my power was a joke, a guttering candle in a storm.
"What do you want from me?" I whispered, my defiance wavering.
"Everything," he said. "I want the secrets you're hiding. I want to know who betrayed you. And most of all..."
He paused, his gaze dropping to my lips for a heartbeat before snapping back to my eyes. "I want to see exactly how much it takes to break that pride of yours."
I managed to find my voice, a jagged laugh escaping my throat. "Good luck with that. I'll be dead before I give you the satisfaction."
"We'll see," he said, finally releasing my wrist. He stepped back as quickly as he'd approached, the sudden void of heat leaving me feeling cold and exposed. He picked up the tea tray as if nothing had happened. "Your dinner is in the dining hall. Don't be late. I hate it when things are disorganized."
I stood there, staring at my wrist, the skin still tingling where he'd touched me. I hated him. I absolutely hated him. But as I watched him walk away, I realized I was shaking—and it wasn't from the cold.
I spent the next hour trying to convince myself that I was still in control. I paced the small guest room he'd assigned me, my mind racing. Kael wasn't just a protector; he was a jailer. He was playing a game, and I was the piece he was currently amusing himself with.
I needed to find a way to regain my core. I needed a catalyst, something to jumpstart the energy flow that Silas had ripped out of me. If I could just get a glimpse of the archives in the Sanctuary, maybe I could find a lead.
But first, I had to survive dinner.
As I walked toward the dining hall, the silence of the house began to grate on me. The Sanctuary was too clean, too white, too perfect. It felt like a tomb dressed up as a palace. Every corner was monitored, every hallway echoed with a sterile sort of peace that made me want to scream just to see if anyone would actually flinch.
I reached the heavy oak doors of the dining room and paused, smoothing out my clothes. I didn't want him to see me rattled. I wanted him to see a villain who was simply waiting for her moment to strike back.
I pushed the doors open. The room was lit by floating crystals that cast a soft, amber glow over the long table. Kael was already there, sitting at the head, a book open beside his plate.
"You're three minutes late," he said without looking up.
"I was admiring the architecture," I retorted, sliding into the chair furthest from him. "It's very... oppressive. Really captures that 'I'm-better-than-you' vibe you've got going on."
He finally looked at me, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Sit. Eat. We need to discuss the first set of secrets you're going to trade me."
I picked up the fork, swirling the food around. "I don't remember agreeing to a schedule."
"You agreed to the contract, Nova. The contract says you provide intelligence in exchange for safety. Right now, you're leaning very heavily on the safety side of the deal."
I opened my mouth to argue, to tell him exactly where he could shove his contract, but the words died in my throat.
*BOOM.*
The entire house shuddered. The crystals overhead flickered and dimmed, and the sound of shattering glass echoed from the front hall. It wasn't an accident. It was a breach.
Kael was on his feet in a heartbeat, his calm demeanor vanishing. He didn't look at me; he looked at the door, his expression turning lethal.
"Stay here," he commanded, his voice no longer smooth, but hard as iron.
I didn't stay. I stood up, my heart racing. I knew that sound. I knew that specific frequency of energy.
"They found me," I whispered.
Another explosion ripped through the corridor, and the dining room doors were blown off their hinges, flying inward in a cloud of splinters and smoke. Through the haze, a dozen armored figures stepped in, their weapons glowing with a familiar, sickly violet light.
At the center of the group stood a man with a jagged scar running down his cheek, a cruel grin plastered on his face.
"Found you, you little bitch," he roared.
Kael stepped in front of me, his hand igniting with a blinding white light, but the man didn't even flinch. He just raised his hand, and a pulse of violet energy slammed into the room, throwing the table across the floor and pinning me against the wall with a force that knocked the wind out of my lungs.
As I struggled to breathe, the man's eyes locked onto mine, and he said something that made my blood turn to ice.
"Silas says it's time to bring the core home."