r her head and ducking behind an armc

doorway walk

unbuttoned at the throat, revealing the hard line of his collarbone and da

rved with deep exhaustion. His gold eyes were banked e

e hallway behind him with drawn steel, b

," Vyrn c

e depth of it made the floorb

trembling bow, squeezed past the edge of the m

ng the broken doors as close to s

of us in a room that su

ack down.

t balanced on the balls of my feet, my

I asked, my voice cutting through the silence,

falling. His gaze moved over me slowly, taking in the scuffed toes of my boot

survived landing on

use

whose skin was burning at three hundred degrees..." He took a slow step forw

hat's going on. Who are you, why am I locked here, and why is

t now, you ar

table, crossing his forearms over his chest. Up close,

The Regent believes you're an assassin sent by an enemy house

sour in my mouth. "That's a v

t

p breath, staring him do

Vyrn said quietly. "And I think I am y

of it hit me

realms, an uncle who stole my life, and now a room f

f vertigo. The room swayed, the carved

es gav

for the arm of a chair. But before my

the green wall sconces. He reached for me, his calloused h

gasped, fli

ed half an inc

ense restraint. He didn't touch me. He held himself back, his knuckles lock

t you," he gritted out

, while my heart was hammering against my ribs. "I don't know you. You

being held at the mercy of men in suits, whether they were l

aggressive step directly toward him. "You

loor, closing the distance b

my chest directly to his. The air between us contra

straight through my chest, pulling me for

t a harsh,

mming into the edge of the table. His head

fast and shallow. The pull was magnetic, and dragging my

fighting against the invisible current

le. He was fighting it too. His muscles strained against his tunic, his boots digg

d, my teeth grinding as I hel

through the shadows. "It doesn't care what you want. It doesn't care w

n, suddenly thick with the heavy

. A sound of raw pain

tep back, but the movement only tigh

erupted through his skin with a terrible, tearing sound. Gold light split th

his jaw clenched so hard a bead

said, panic spiking throu

t," he

r the violent weight

right on the floor before me, his massive shoul

t, erasing the brown beneath,

t, his chest burning, his eyes locked onto mine as