Just alliance.
Just a means to an end that will dissolve the moment the threat is eliminated.
But it's been driving us insane.
All of us.
I see it in the way Sage watches her—that desperate, hungry attention of someone who's finally found the thing they've been searching for their entire life. I see it in the way Blazegravitates toward her, finding excuses to be in whatever room she occupies, creating chaos just to see her laugh.
I see it inKai, of all people.
The way his eyes track her movements when he thinks no one is looking. The way his jaw tightens when she smiles at one of us. The way he's started sitting closer to her at meals, finding small ways to be in her orbit without ever admitting that's what he's doing.
We're all falling.
Every single one of us.
And we can't stop it any more than we can stop breathing.
Until Kai's father is dealt with, we can't get too close. Can't let ourselves fully commit to this thing that's building between us, because distraction leads to mistakes and mistakes lead to death.
But we can do little things.
Protect her.
Feed her.
Show her she's worthy of existing in a world that's spent years telling her she's not.
I'm not used to being in a relationship.
Anykind of relationship, really.
My training emphasized disconnection. Isolation. The understanding that attachment was weakness and caring about anyone was just handing your enemies leverage to destroy you.
But this...
This is different.
I don't hate it.
In fact—and this is the part that scares me most—I think I might actuallywantit.
"Threat detected. One hundred meters."
The robotic voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts.
Ro.
The miniature version of Seraphine's AI companion, somehow patched into our security systems because apparently our Omega is not only deadly but also technologically brilliant.
I spin?—
Too slow.
The assassin in black is already there, materializing from the shadows like a nightmare given form. His blade is raised, descending toward my exposed back, and I calculate the trajectory even as I move?—
Not fast enough.
