Page 7 of Too Dangerous To Die

My breath comes faster, uneven. "What have you done?"

He does not answer.

Because he already knows.

And now, so do I.

I do not justbelongto him.

I ampart of him.

“What do I call you, human?” his words break through my thoughts.

I frown, but opens my mouth to reply, “Nora.”

4

RHAEGAR

“Nora,” I murmur under my breath as I intently gaze at her form.

Shetremblesbefore me, her fingers curling into the stone beneath her as if it is the only thing keeping her grounded. I watch the realization settle into her bones, the full, suffocating weight of our bond pressing against her fragile mortal mind.

She is beginning to understand.

And she hates it.

I should not care.

There is somethingsatisfyingin the way her breath hitches, the way her pulse flutters at the base of her throat, fast anderratic.She is afraid.But she does not run.

"You knew," she whispers, her voice raw with something shedoes not want to name."You knew the moment I woke up that this bond wouldn’t break."

I tilt my head. "Of course."

Herteeth clench.The anger in her is a soft thing, fragile in comparison to what I have seen in warriors and kings, but it burns hot and bright.Like a dying ember that refuses to be snuffed out.

Fascinating.

"I should kill you."

The words are a whisper, but they curl through the air with venom, curling against my skin.

Amusement flickers through me. "You could try."

Her magicflares—weak, still tainted by the toxin, but present enough that itbuzzes against my senses. Shewants to fight me.The thought sends a dark thrill through my blood, deep and primal.

She will lose.

But I would enjoy it.

Instead, she exhales sharply,reeling herself back from the edge.Her fingers twitch at her sides before shepresses her palms flat against her thighs, steadying herself.

She is learning.

The fire in her is controlled now, no longer reckless.

She is dangerous in a way she does not yet understand.

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