Kai POV
I strode toward the edge of the pit, my boots crunching against the gravel, and there she was — still standing exactly where she'd been, staring down at Batista. Blood smeared the dirt at his side, but the stab wound in his gut had already sealed over, his body mending itself like the stubborn bastard he was — but he hadn't stirred.
And neither had she.
She didn't flinch.
Didn't twitch.
I hated it. Hated how the Alpha command had slid off her like water off stone. How no matter how loud the bond between us pulsed, she was something… other. Starborn. Cursed. Shielded by old magic.
She turned at the sound of my footsteps, her eyes catching the firelight like mirrors. Then, without a word, she bent to retrieve the blade she'd dropped — its edge still gleaming wet with Bastia's blood.
"You should leave," I told her, my voice low, careful. "The fight's over. No need to cut his head off. He's my guest, not a slave like you and the others."
