GAHRYE
His chest felt like his ribs were being cracked and pulled apart. The sheer injustice of what he'd found since arriving his stole his breath. But Elia, ignorant of it all, continued to stare at him until he realized he would have to either submit, or defy her outright. And given the way her lip was curling back from her teeth, he didn't like to think where that would take them.
"You want to know what's burning in my gut?" he muttered. There was no way he could tell her the truth—he knew her. She'd immediately try to find a way to solve the problem. And there wasn't time or energy for her to waste trying to fix his life when her own was so deeply under threat.
"Yes!" she cried.
