The word tore from me before I even realized it; my voice cracked the silence like thunder splitting a storm.

Kristen froze, the tip of his blade hovered inches above Knox's chest, and his head turned slowly, and when his gaze found me, my knees nearly buckled.

Those eyes, cold steel that had always pinned others into silence, now burned like molten iron; the weight of his glare knocked the breath from my lungs. For a terrifying moment, I thought he would stab Knox anyway.

Simply to ...