I meet his gaze steadily. “I don’t think. I know. You’ve lost them.”

He barks out a laugh. “What? You hit them with pain, and then they back off to avoid more of it. It won’t last. They’ll be mine again.”

I shake my head, letting him see the utter confidence in my gaze. “No. I gave them something you never did. Something they didn’t realize they were missing until now. But now they know what that is—what that feels like—no matter what you do, they will never be yours ...