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I glance down, noticing my plate is empty. Maybe… maybe I just need some more sugar.

Yeah. That’s got to be it—low blood sugar.

“Well, spit it out,” Caelan snaps from where he’s leaning against the wall next to me. Daxen’s lips thin as he spins back around and presses a few keys. All at once, all but a few of the monitors blink on, mirroring his laptop—which in turn is mirroring the screen of a phone.

“This is Cage’s phone. I had it brought to me as soon as I knew he would no longer be continuing his training.”

“So… before or after you held him down in the fireplace until the fire consumed him and he died?” I ask, stretching for the tin of butter cookies on the tray and stealing a sleeve. When I glance up, all three males are staring at me.

“What?”

“Before,” Dax clips. “As soon as I felt your rage through the Bond and heard the two of you grappling, I made the call.”

“Wait, so you knew you were gonna kill him before you even walked in the room?”

Daxen’s jaw ticks. “It’s irrelevant.”

“I don’t think it is,” Caelan drawls. “Why did you kill Cage?”

“We are getting wildly off topic⁠—”

“Answer the question,” Caelan demands, talking over him.

The room is totally silent except for the sound of parchment paper from my snack. I swear I can actually see Daxen’s mind working, trying to find a way out of this conversation.

Finally, Dax turns to me and says, “I did not know I was going to kill Cage when I walked in.” Then he turns to Caelan. “I killed him because he tried to kill the Omega.”

Apparently that’s not a good enough answer for Caelan. “Why?”

“I don’t know why he wanted to kill her; you’d have to ask Vae. He was there for the lead-up.”

Caelan’s onyx eyes darken with simmering rage.

“Don’t be obtuse; it makes us both look fucking stupid. Tell me why you reacted to Cage’s attempt to kill my Mate the way you did.”

Fuck are we really doing this right now? Daxen’s going to pop a blood vessel, and Caelan’s barely been out of medical for a day.

“Because she’s an Omega. She’s defenseless.”

“She’s always been an Omega. That didn’t stop you from tormenting her for two weeks. And I’d argue she’s not nearly as defenseless as you’re implying. Try again.”

“I never once tried to kill her, Caelan. Cage was going to take her life in cold blood, and while I won’t argue that she has abilities we don’t yet understand—abilities she could use to protect herself—she wasn’t using them fast enough. If she were, I wouldn’t have had to shove her out of the way half a second before that fucking sharpened piece of steel pierced her heart.”

“Still not answering my question.”

“Maybe I don’t have an answer!” Dax shouts. “Maybe I just fucking reacted. Did you ever consider that?”

Caelan tilts his head to the side and frowns. “You don’t ever just react. Why are you lying to me?”

Oh gods, this isn’t going to end well.

“I’m not lying,” Dax seethes.

“Then why⁠—”

“Because she wasn’t his to kill!” He surges out of his chair, grey eyes flashing silver, hands fisted at his sides. “She’s not his!”

Compared to Dax, Caelan is the definition of calm and controlled. It’s unsettling the way the two have switched places. Normally Caelan’s the one shouting, and Daxen’s the one refusing to give in to his emotions.