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Kael met his glare. “It does.” He then pointed to the hilt, to where the symbols were curved into a strange, delicate pattern… one that looked all too familiar.

I swallowed heavily, my hand lifting slowly to my collarbone.

“Annika?” I heard Lucas’ voice, sharp.

Without thinking, I tugged the edge of my shirt down, revealing a faint, curling birthmark just below my collarbone. It was identical to the mark carved into the hilt.

“It’s not possible,” Lucas said.

Kael leaned back, letting the weight of it all sink in. “Do you see it now?”

I wasn’t sure who he was referring to. Not that it mattered.

Lucas stepped in front of me, keeping his body between mine and Kael’s, as if Kael was the enemy here.

“It doesn’t matter,” Lucas growled. “I won’t let them take her.”

Kael’s expression hardened. “You won’t have a choice if they get to her first.”

“I’m not running,” I said simply.

I felt Lucas grab my wrist. He was gentle, but firm. “Annika—”

“No,” I said with a steadier voice this time. My hand covered his. “I won’t hide while they hunt me. I won’t let them hurt anyone else.”

His eyes were drinking in mine.

“This isn’t bravery,” he said. “This is recklessness.”

“Maybe,” I admitted. “But I won’t live in fear.”

I knew that Lucas wanted to argue, that he wanted to shake some sense into me. But he knew better than to even try.

Kael watched, arms crossed. “Odds aren’t good. You might die.”

I didn’t flinch. “Not today or any time soon.”

Kael didn’t say anything to that. Instead, he left the dagger on the table and glanced at the door, before his eyes met Lucas’ once again.

“I know I am an intruder,” he said. “But perhaps you might realize that I’m not the enemy here.”

Upon those words, he left the cottage, closing the door behind him.

I stared at the dagger resting on the table, its dark blade catching the dying light. My fingers itched to touch it, to prove it wasn’t real. But I didn’t. I couldn’t.

Lucas stood at the window, arms crossed, shoulders tense. He hadn’t moved since Kael left, but I felt the storm brewing in him. He was too still. Too quiet.

I didn’t know what scared me more—the dagger or the look in Lucas’s eyes.

“Say something,” I said finally. My voice sounded small in the silence.

His gaze stayed fixed on the trees outside. “You should have let me kill him.”

I exhaled, the sound half a laugh. “You always want to kill someone.”

“This time I’d be right.”

I didn’t answer. Maybe he was right. Kael wasn’t safe. I knew that the moment he stepped out of the shadows and into our lives. But I also knew he hadn’t lied.