Page 147 of The Bond That Burns

“Easy, Drakharrow,” he murmured. He wasn’t even trying to fight me back. Maybe that’s what disarmed me the most.

I released him and he smoothed down his jacket. “You’re not exactly subtle, are you?”

“Fuck off,” I snarled.

But instead he stepped in front of me, blocking my path. He’d moved so quickly—faster than any highblood I’d seen. My heart started to pound. It reminded me of how I’d moved that day after the Tribunal evaluation.

“What the hell was that?” I demanded. “How did you do that?”

“Patience,” he said smoothly. “That might be hard as I can see you don’t have any. But I’m being serious with you now. If you can’t controlthis, that’s going to be a big problem, Drakharrow.”

“Control this? What even is this?” I demanded, breathing harder. “What the hell is happening to me? What do you know about it?”

He shook his head.

“Fine,” I said, my voice cold. “Maybe my being a threat will be a good thing. It’ll make it even easier to dominate you.”

Kage gave a snort of derision and folded his arms over his chest. “Don’t be so sure about that.”

“Care to test me?” I stepped closer, pushing my chest up against his. My anger was spiking and I wasn’t even bothering to rein it in.

“Careful now,” he said quietly. “You don’t want to shift right here in the hall, now do you?”

“Shift?” I ran my hands over my face. “What the fuck does that mean? Shift into what?” I couldn’t help it. I knew it was pathetic but I was practically begging. “Come on, Tanaka. If you know something you have to tell me.”

“I think there’s someone better suited for that job,” Kage replied softly.

I scowled. “Who?”

“Ask your dear uncle,” Kage said, his voice dripping with disdain. “Ask Viktor Drakharrow what he knows. Ask him about your father. About his death.”

The words stabbed into me like a sword. I stared at him. “What? What are you talking about?” I shook my head. “I should have guessed. You’re so full of shit.”

“Am I?” Kage’s dark eyes narrowed. “You think your house is the only one with secrets? We all have them. Every one of the four houses. Every bloodline.”

I stared at him, trying to make out the meaning in his words. “You’re saying...the other houses... they can—”

“Don’t,” he interrupted. “Don’t even finish that sentence.”

“What the hell does that mean? You’ve been through this too, haven’t you?”

Something passed over his face but I couldn’t pin down what it was. Fear? Regret? Sympathy? All three?

“No,” he said firmly, shutting me down. “What you’re going through... It’s different.”

“Different? Different how?” So, I was alone in this? Great. Just fucking great.

He didn’t answer me directly. “Look, I want to help you, Drakharrow. Believe it or not, I do. But all I can say is, you need to be careful right now. What’s happening to you, it’s not just going to affect you. It’ll impact everyone around you. People could get hurt. I don’t want that to happen. Especially if it’s Medra.”

“Keep her name off your lips,” I growled. “Stay the hell away from her.”

Kage rolled his eyes. “Think about what I said. If you can’t learn to control yourself, you’ll be a danger to her, too. Do you really want that? She’s vulnerable enough already.”

“I don’t see you exactly stepping up with words of wisdom,” I spat. “Only cryptic bullshit.”

“Look, when the time comes, you’ll know it. You’ll learn. Just like I did.” It was the closest thing to an acknowledgement that he’d gone through something similar. But what exactly? The Avari bastard. He’d rather keep his secrets than actually help me. “If you survive...”

I stared at him. “Survive? What the fuck does that mean?”

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