His jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscle twitching. “Your sorry excuse of a first chance is so dead, Tessa. He’s done.”
“I know,” I whispered, forcing calm into my voice even as my pulse raced. “But we can’t start something here without backup. Not when we’re still on his territory and takes could be spinned the wrong way.”
He didn’t answer, but the steering wheel creaked under his grip, metal groaning.
Cassius was pushing through him, too pissed off to listen, too eager to spill blood for the smallest slight. The air shimmered faintly — the first sign of his earth magic stirring. The ground beneath the tires began to shift, tiny cracks spidering through the packed dirt.
He was going to open the damn gate himself.
I couldn’t let him.
I placed both hands on his face, forci
