The creature didn’t lunge this time.

It bowed.

Not fully. Not submissively. But its massive head dipped, molten-gold eyes never leaving mine, shoulders lowering just enough to shift the balance of the clearing.

Every rogue felt it.

The forest did too.

The fire around me stopped raging. It sharpened.

There’s a difference between chaos and command.

I had been chaos.

Now I was something else.

Killian’s grip tightened at my waist. Not restraining. Anchoring. His breath was steady ...