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But this one little human?

I licked my lips.

With a proud lift of her chin and defiance sparking in her stormy eyes, she stood toe-to-toe with me, calling my bluff.

My muscles tensed as memories of soft skin, wet heat, and desperate panting assaulted me. I staggered when her low, stifled moans echoed in my head. Recalling her eager mouth and pliant body when we kissed made my cock throb.

The fucked-up part? I could count on her bending to me, and I’d fall into her as soon as the fragile thread linking desire, hate, and need snapped.

No.

I couldn’t accept it.

She tricked us.

I slid open the dresser drawer and moved my socks aside to find the small box hidden there. Pulling Raelynn’s necklace free, I held it in my palm, the crystal warming at my touch.

I didn’t know why I kept the jewelry after stealing it from Roandra, hiding it instead of reporting it to the council.

Even if Raelynn knew nothing about the summoning, she still possessed something she had no business owning. Using her dead mother as a convenient excuse did nothing to help her case.

Still, something was off.

A dangerous tug in my chest urged me to question everything as I remembered the pain in her eyes while she told us what happened to her family.

You couldn’t fake that kind of pain.

It was the kind of quiet pain that, no matter what people saw on the surface, it couldn’t compare to the damage inside.

Her eyes revealed a hidden scar I wasn’t sure the others saw. But like recognized like.

That made her the biggest threat of all.

Soon, she wouldn’t be a problem. Then I could stop thinking about it—about her.

I put the necklace back in the box and tucked it away, then retreated to the ensuite bathroom to end the conflicting emotions battling for dominance in my gut.

After showering, I stepped out of the bathroom to find Zeke sitting on my bed, his platinum hair damp from a shower. His blue plaid pajama pants and white T-shirt were a bright contrast to the black bedding beneath him.

“I don’t want to talk about her,” I said before he even had the chance to say her name.

“Why do you hate her so much?”

I studied the dark circles under his eyes. “You need sleep.”

“Cyn.” He sighed. “Come on. It’s just us.”

We’d already discussed Raelynn when we stayed at her house. I didn’t want to keep talking about her. But I also couldn’t stand to see the disappointment in Zeke’s eyes.

Exhaling a rough breath, I chucked my dirty clothes into the basket by the door and gripped the dresser’s edge, bracing for the talk I didn’t want to have.

Zeke wanted the truth. So I’d give him the truth. Even if it felt like dragging red-hot coals across my vocal cords to get the words out.

“I don’t hate her. But I don’t exactly like her either.”

I tried to keep my face impassive, resisting the urge to cringe at his wide-eyed expression. He looked like I’d declared undying love for the infuriating woman, not given a simple truth.

“What?” The bite in my tone made Zeke flinch. “What?” I asked again, softer.