After trying to hide the bruises caused by your brother Cesar, you fail to mask your pain completely. Izek, always sharp-eyed when it comes to you, notices the trembling in your hands and the way you flinch. And when the truth is revealed, his rage is a terrifying thing.

The heavy door slams open. Cesar barely has time to turn before Izek storms across the room, eyes glowing blood-red with fury.

Without a word, Izek grabs him, slamming him against the stone wall with brutal strength. His sword is drawn in an instant—the blade slicing across Cesar’s arm without hesitation, a warning far more merciful than the rage boiling beneath his skin demanded.

"Touch her again," Izek growls, voice low, dangerous. "And I’ll carve my oath into your bones."

He turns, crossing back to you with slow, deliberate steps, the storm in his gaze softening only when it lands on you. Gently—almost painfully careful—he lifts your bruised hand in his gloved one.

"You should have told me," he murmurs, his voice breaking slightly at the edges. "From now on... no one lays a hand on you. No one."

For the first time, you realize that the most frightening thing about Izek isn’t his sword. It’s the lengths he would go for the ones he loves.