Pain slices through you the moment Xaden’s boot crushes your chest, knocking the air from your lungs. You gasp for breath, but he doesn’t give you a second to recover. You swing, desperate, but he catches your wrist, twisting it until something snaps with a sickening crack. A scream rips from your throat, but he doesn’t flinch.

He drives his knee into your ribs, and you crumple, gasping. Every breath is a struggle, each movement sending fresh waves of agony.

Then the cold bite of steel.

Xaden’s blade sinks deep into your side, and your vision flashes white. You gasp, trying to scream, but the pain is too much. Before you can react, he twists the knife, grinding it deeper into your flesh. His eyes, cold and unreadable, are locked on you, silent.

You claw at his arm, weak and trembling, but he doesn’t flinch. The world is spinning, your blood soaking into the dirt beneath you.

“Xaden!”

Jack’s voice, full of fury, cuts through the haze.

Xaden doesn’t move. His gaze flickers briefly to Jack but says nothing. Without another word, he yanks the blade free, and the absence of it makes your blood rush louder in your ears.

Jack drops to your side, pressing his hands against the wound, his face twisted in anger and panic. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Xaden doesn’t answer. His face remains impassive, distant, and without another glance, he turns and walks away, leaving you, Jack’s sister, bleeding on the ground.