"Who is Kaelen?" Marcus's dark, possessive eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, his fingers digging agonizingly into the bruised flesh of Roxy's paralyzed hand. The absolute, suffocating terror of his demand trapped the air in her throat. She couldn't explain. She couldn't tell him about the towering King of the North, or the world of magic, or the fierce, unconditional love that spanned across the cosmos.
Before Marcus could tighten his grip further, the heavy wooden door of the hospital room swung open.
"Mr. Vance?" a young nurse with a clipboard stepped into the room, her rubber shoes squeaking against the linoleum.
In a fraction of a second, the terrifying, lethal monster completely vanished. Marcus released Roxy's bruised fingers, carefully lifting her hand to press a soft, lingering kiss to her knuckles. His shoulders slumped, his dark eyes instantly welling with perfectly manufactured, devastatingly convincing tears.
