The growl didn't stop.
Kael's molten silver eyes never left my face . They were locked onto me.
He took one step.
Then another step.
Jax shifted instantly, subtly placing his body Partially between Kael and me "Kael," he said, low but firm. "Stop. She's just a—"
"She's just a what, Jax?" Kael cut in. "Finish it."
Jax's jaw tightened. He didn't. He couldn't. Just a human. Just a girl. None of it held anymore, and we all knew it.
Maeve rose from her chair, her movements were slow and deliberate, she simply collected a random book and walked out without a backward glance. "The lesson was.... intense" she murmured.
"The lesson is over," Kael said, not even sparing her a glance. "Leave us."
Jax hesitated. I saw it. His eyes flicked to me, before Kael's gaze snapped back to him.
Jax backed down.
Maeve followed, pausing only long enough to give Kael a look of pure, unimpressed judgment before the door shut behind them with a final click.
Kael closed the distance.
He didn't grab me. He didn't need to. He stepped into my space until he was inches away. I could feel the heat coming off him, the faint pulse in His throat.
If I could see it that means he must have heard my heart beat so fast.
I didn't move.
His eyes traced my face slowly. The tear tracks I'd wiped away. The tight line of my mouth.
"You know." He said his voice rough, He wasn't asking. He knew what I knew.
I tilted my chin up, I would never forgive myself if I backed down now "Everything."
"I know I'm the last one. I know the bond is killing me. I know the ritual is suicide." It felt dangerous knowing something vulnerable about him. Kael could be vulnerable. And if he could feel this much, he had to know what he did to me every time I saw his face.
"I know you killed your father. I know your brother let you live."
"I know your deal is a lie," I went on. "I die before I get my answers. Before I find my mother. So yes. I know."
He leaned closer. Too close. His breath brushed my mouth, intimate in a way that felt like a threat. It was too close. Far to close for comfort
"If you're going to hurt me," I said quietly, "do it."
His hand twitched.
"Hit me. Kill me. Get it over with." I met his eyes, unblinking. "I'm not scared of dying. I'm scheduled for it, Remember Kael?"
For a moment, I thought he might actually lose it.
Then he stopped.
Just… stopped.
"Good," he said finally, the word dragged out like it hurt. "That's good."
"You know the numbers," he said, his voice low. "The bond has a one hundred percent mortality rate. The ritual has a zero percent survival rate. Those are your options."
He took that final half-step, eliminating the space between us. I could see the fine scars near his temple, the relentless focus in his gaze.
"So you choose," he said, the words flat and final. "You let the bond shut down your organs year by year. Or you attempt the ritual and risk systemic failure in seventy-two hours." He paused, letting the horror of the math settle over me. "That is the extent of your power. Choosing how you die."
"There's another option" I whispered
"What's the other option"
"We do it my way Riley, No questions, You do as you're told"