“She could have allowed Cole to die,” Dax added. “If she came to cripple the clan, she already had the cleanest opportunity she will ever get.”
Logic constrained Rhen more effectively than force.
He paced once before stopping.
“Fine. We keep her contained and question her when she wakes.”
His gaze moved across the brothers.
“The moment she becomes a threat, she dies.”
Malakai nodded.
Agreed.
Rhen disappeared before the decision could be debated further.
Chapter 42
Rhen rematerialized inside his chamber with rage still moving through his veins.
The fire had burned low, leaving the room steeped in shadow and the dull scent of smoke. Beneath the familiar leather and old wood lingered something faintly floral that did not belong inside his private space.
Her.
His attention went immediately to the bed.
The witch lay tangled in the blankets, her body still trembling beneath the elemental power trapped inside her. Sweat shone across her skin, and the sheets had slipped during the convulsions, exposing the vulnerable line of her throat and the shallow movement of her ribs.
Rhen’s body reacted before his mind could force hatred back into place.
The response was immediate, physical, and vicious enough to feel like betrayal.
He curled his hands at his sides.
“Fuck.”
The word was directed at himself rather than the woman upon his bed.
She was a witch wrapped in Diablo Levélle magic, and every instinct he possessed should have recognized only an enemy. Instead, something inside him had responded as though her presence belonged in the room and the sight of her skin had awakened an appetite he had buried with Leena.
Rhen crossed to the bed and pulled the sheet over her with controlled, angry movements.
His knuckles brushed her ribs.
The contact moved through him like a live current, striking somewhere beneath conscious thought before spreading through his body.
Rhen recoiled.
“Do not begin this,” he muttered, although he was speaking to himself.
The witch’s mouth parted as a weak sound escaped her. It held no seduction or invitation, only pain.
Her lashes fluttered before her eyes opened abruptly.
They were wide, fevered, and unfocused.
“Help me,” she rasped. “Please make it stop.”
