KERES POV
The witch didn’t stop shaking until Marcellus touched her face and some dark vines passed from his hand to her face.
He did it with two fingers beneath her chin and a stillness that made the whole damn room around us feel colder.
“Livia,” he said quietly.
And the girl broke.
Just collapsed straight into her uncle like her bones had been waiting for his voice before remembering they were allowed to give out.
For some reason, that pissed me off more than the chains.
Chains were physical things you could tear off in pieces.
That kind of sob, though?
That came from the moment someone realized they might actually survive.
I hated it.
I hated every second of it.
Samael hated it too, pacing beneath my skin so hard my muscles kept twitching.
I knew Marcellus wasn't a saint,
