Page 78 of Tethered In Blood

“I think it’s more than that. I think it needs it. It’s not just a body. It’s a fucking beacon. A bridge between here and whatever is bleeding through from the Veil.”

Her throat bobbed. “So, what do we do?”

The answer settled in my bones the moment the pieces fell into place. “We burn it.”

“You said that last time,” she muttered under her breath. There was a beat of silence. “We go at first light.”

I shook my head. “I go. Now.”

“Like hells you are.”

“Dilthen Doe, if that thing comes back while we’re out there…” I paused. “I need you alive. You’re the one it’s hunting.” She chewed her lip as I leaned forward. “We need to find out why it’s targeting you. Until we do, you aren’t just a target. You’re bait.”

Quinn’s eyes darkened. Her jaw clenched so tightly that I could hear her teeth grind together. “I’m not staying behind,” she said, unwavering. “If that thing comes back, it will be after me. Do you think I’ll just sit here and wait for you?”

I exhaled hard through my nose, determined to keep my voice lowered. “Yes. That isexactlywhat you are going to do.”

The firelight carved sharp angles into her face, turning the frustration in her eyes into defiance. Determination. A challenge I didn’t have time for. “No, Sinclaire. I can handle myself.”

I stared at her, trying to suppress the frustration in my chest, but it wasn’t just that. It was something more profound—the feeling I had since that creature in the field had waited for her, hunted her—the same feeling I had when she threw herself at the nightmare in Silverfel without hesitation.

I hated it.

It made my pulse quicken and made me want to reach for her, to anchor her here where I knew she was safe. “This isn’t about whether or not you can handle yourself,” I said, lowering my voice. “It’s about what will happen if you don’t.”

Her lips parted.

“If that thing comes back while we’re out there, we won’t be able to kill it. Not yet. Youknowthat.” My hand curled into a fist on the table. “And if it gets to you before we figure this out, we lose everything.”

Ilose everything.

She swallowed, but she didn’t relent. Of course, she didn’t. She never did. I could see the war in her eyes—pride and fury clashing with reason, logic battling the undeniable truth that she wasn’t in control. And I wasn’t willing to gamble with her life to appease her stubbornness.

“I’m not some delicate thing you must protect,” she muttered. Her voice was quieter, but just as fierce.

I huffed a bitter laugh. “Believe me, I know.”Saints, did I know.There was nothing delicate about Quinn. She was sharp edges and fire, unyielding in a way that made people underestimate her. But I didn’t. I had seen how she fought. How she was always three steps ahead, always calculating her next move. She was quick, resourceful, and fucking brilliant.

And none of that mattered if the thing in that field got to her first.

The thought sent a rush of discomfort through me. My mind conjured images I didn’t want—her eyes going wide in shock, her body crumpling, her blood soaking the soil beneath her feet. I shoved my chair back, stood to meet her again, and though I didn’t close the space between us, I made sure she felt the weight of my presence.

The finality of my words.

“Let me do this, Herbalist,” I said, softer but no less severe. “Let me end it.”

Her fingers twitched at her sides. The rise and fall of her chest measured the weight of her words to follow. She sighed, tilting her head back to meet my gaze again.

“Fine,” she muttered. Her voice was firm but hesitant, wavering just enough to betray what she refused to say out loud:Don’t go. Stay.

“But if you don’t come back—”

“I will.”

She searched my face. “You better.”

Despite the tension still wound in my gut, I smirked. And she froze. Her eyes flicked to my mouth before she caught herself, tearing her gaze away. A faint blush crept up her neck and traced her skin.

Back in the field, she stared at me that way, her eyes fixed on my mouth.

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