The silence of the Blackwood Cabin was more terrifying than the explosions in the vault.
Kai was out. Truly out. He lay sprawled across the leather sofa, his chest rising and falling in a shallow, uneven rhythm. His skin was the color of ash, and the dark circles under his eyes made him look like a man who had been haunted for decades. Even in sleep, his hand was hooked into the fabric of my dress, a tether he refused to relinquish.
I moved slowly, unpeeling his fingers one by one. The moment the physical contact broke, a wave of nausea hit me. My vision blurred, violet spots dancing in the corners of my eyes.
Withdrawal. The Siphon wasn't just taking from him; it was making me addicted to the exchange. Without his body to ground the energy, the power inside me felt like it was trying to claw its way out of my pores.
I stumbled across the room toward an old shortwave radio sitting on a dusty shelf. My fingers trembled as I flicked the dial. Static hissed, then a voice cut through the white noise—cold, clear, and sickeningly familiar.
"...official statement from the Board of Directors," Lucian's voice rang out, sounding triumphant. "A tragic structural failure at the downtown facility has claimed the life of my brother, Kai Fox, and his bride, Amara. As the sole remaining heir, I am stepping in as acting CEO to ensure the stability of the Fox Empire."
My blood ran cold. He had erased us. In the eyes of the law, we were corpses.
"Liar," I whispered, my voice cracking.
I looked back at Kai. He looked so vulnerable, so human. If Lucian sent a recovery team here, Kai wouldn't be able to fight. He had given every ounce of his strength to stabilize me in the tunnel.
I walked to the window, pulling back the heavy curtain just an inch. The rain had turned into a thick mist. And then, I saw them.
Two sets of headlights, cutting through the trees about a mile down the ridge. Professional. Slow. They weren't looking for survivors; they were looking for confirmation.
"Kai! Kai, wake up!" I rushed back to the sofa, shaking his shoulders.
He didn't move. His skin was burning hot, but he was shivering. The "Siphon" had drained his immune system along with his energy. He was in a deep, shock-induced fever.
I panicked. I looked at my hands, which were beginning to glow again. I could feel the electricity humming in the air around me. I was a lighthouse in the dark, and those men were coming to put out the flame.
"Rule Number Ten," I muttered to myself, mocking his voice. "The Queen protects the King."
I reached for Kai's holster, which he had dropped on the floor. The weight of the gun was heavy, alien in my hand. I had never fired a weapon, but the power in my veins told me I didn't need to be a marksman. I just needed to be a conduit.
I stepped onto the porch, the freezing rain hitting my face. The headlights were closer now. I could hear the crunch of gravel.
"You want the Fox?" I screamed into the darkness, my voice amplified by the violet resonance in my throat. "Come and get him!"
I didn't wait for them to see me. I raised my hands, and for the first time, I didn't try to hold the energy back. I let it flood into the gun, into the air, into the very earth.
A bolt of violet lightning erupted from my fingertips, striking the lead SUV. The vehicle didn't just stop; its electronics fried instantly, the engine exploding in a shower of sparks.
I gasped, falling back against the cabin door. The surge of power felt like a thousand orgasms and a thousand stabbings all at once. It was explicit, violent, and intoxicating.
But as I looked at the wreckage, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Kai was standing behind me, leaning heavily against the doorframe. He was barely upright, his eyes half-closed, but he was holding his second gun.
"Amara..." he rasped, his voice filled with a mixture of pride and pure, unadulterated terror. "What did you do?"
"I anchored myself, Kai," I said, turning to him, my eyes glowing so bright they illuminated the entire porch. "I told you. I'm the Storm now."
He didn't scold me. He didn't tell me to go inside. He pulled me against him, his body still shaking, and kissed me with a hunger that told me he didn't care if I was a monster. He just cared that I was his monster.
"Then let's show them," he whispered against my lips, "why you don't hunt a Fox in his own woods."