Page 108 of Vows of Ruin

His jaw tightens. “Don’t—”

But I cut him off, the dagger’s point lifting, not threatening him, not reaching him, just drawing a line in the air between us. “I didn’t hollow you out. I didn’t destroy you. I didn’t make you easy prey.”

My voice sharpens, blade-like. “You walked yourself to Sebastian. You opened the door. You handed him everything.”

I lean in. “And the worst part?” I whisper. “You still want to blame me… because the truth is so much uglier.”

He clenches his fists, knuckles white.

“You didn’t help Sebastian because I used you,” I say, mocking the phrase. “You helped him because you’re weak. Because you’re bitter. Because you needed someone else to blame for what you became.”

His face twists, fury and shame wrestling under his skin. I tilt my head, voice dropping even lower. “You didn’t break because I left you. You broke because you had nothing left in you worth saving—and that terrified you.”

He sucks in a breath like it hurts. Good. I finally point the dagger at him, not touching him yet, but close enough to be a threat. Just aimed. A symbol.

“But here’s the real truth, Noah.” I let the blade hover in the space between us. “You gave Sebastian the map of my world… and you still don’t understand the one thing that matters.”

I lean in, slow, controlled, terrifyingly calm. “You didn’t burn my world down.” The dagger doesn’t waver. “I survived you. I became stronger because of you. And everything you did—every betrayal you handed him—will only make me harder to break.”

His eyes widen, fear finally bleeding through the anger. I rise from my chair, pressing my cheek to his, whispering in his ear. “Thank you.” I sit back, lowering the dagger to my knee. My smile, cold and devastating.

Chapter Forty

Reaper

Wrenley’s dagger glints once before she lowers it to her knee, her expression carved from ice and fire and every sharp thing I’ve ever admired in her. Restraint. Control. Power wrapped in stillness. Most people are terrified of her. I’m not. I’m in awe.

She could’ve killed him. God knows he’s earned it. But she didn’t. Not because she couldn’t. Because she chose not to. Yet. That’s strength. The kind most men never touch. Across the table, Noah looks like he finally understands who he is dealing with. Too late. Much too late.

Margot is the first to break the silence.

“Wrenley,” she says, voice steady. “I need to talk to you. Outside. Now.”

Wrenley doesn’t answer right away. She keeps her gaze locked on Noah for several long, heavy seconds, a quiet warning, a promise, a judgment, before she finally exhales.

“Okay.”

She stands, sheathing her dagger with a clean, practiced motion. Then she turns to me. “Stay with him.”

It isn’t a request. It’s trust. It’s a command. It’s both. I nod once. She steps forward, presses a quick kiss to my mouth, soft, grounding us both, and walks toward the door.

Max stays close at her side. Torque, Elias, Margot, Riot… all of them file out after her. The door shuts with a sharp click. Just me, Hugo on the floor at my feet, and Noah still bound in the chair.

Noah watches the door as if expecting her to walk back in. She doesn’t. When the last echo fades, he finally turns his attention back to me.

“I know how you can protect her,” he says.

I don’t reply. I just stare at him, arms crossed, letting the silence dig under his skin. Something we’ve all learned from Wrenley.

He swallows, shoulders tense. “I’m serious, Reaper. I know what Sebastian wants. I know where he’s going next. I know—”

I inhale once. Slow. Controlled. When I finally speak, my voice is low enough to make him flinch. “Nothing you say has any merit. Not anymore. You betrayed her.”

Color drains from his face. I step forward. Slow. Deliberate. Hugo shifts but stays at my heel. Noah tries to straighten, but he’s tied to the chair and cornered. I bend down until we’re eye to eye, nose to nose, close enough that he can’t look anywhere else but at me.

“You want to talk about protecting her?” I murmur. “You can’t even protect yourself from the consequences.”

His breath stutters. Just once. “And we’re all going to watch,” I add softly. “As she deals with the damage you did.”