Chapter 66: Chapter 66
Nobody moved for several long seconds.
The apartment glowed dimly beneath emergency lighting while shattered glass covered the floor around them in glittering fragments. The silence afterward felt almost worse than the entity’s presence had.
Like the room itself was waiting to see what happened next.
Rowan’s pulse still hammered hard enough to hurt.
She remained pressed instinctively against Corvin’s side, one hand gripping the front of his shirt without remembering making the decision to reach for him. Power still lingered sharply in the air around both of them after the bond had surged through the apartment.
Corvin looked down at her briefly.
“You hurt?”
The question sounded calm.
Too calm.
Rowan swallowed. “No.”
He studied her another second like he was verifying the answer himself before finally lifting his gaze toward the ruined windows and dark television screen.
Malric crouched near the broken glass across the room, inspecting one of the shattered light fixtures with visible tension still pulling through his expression.
“Well,” he muttered quietly, “that escalated quickly.”
Jess stared at him. “Quickly?”
Malric glanced toward her.
“We met an ancient nightmare creature speaking through reflections while the apartment exploded,” she continued. “There was no gradual escalation.”
“That is fair.”
Jess folded both arms tightly. “I need everyone to understand I was doing perfectly fine two months ago.”
“You were not,” Rowan said automatically.
Jess pointed at her immediately. “Emotionally? No. Supernaturally? Absolutely yes.”
Despite everything, Rowan laughed weakly under her breath.
The sound seemed to break some of the pressure hanging over the room.
Only slightly.
Corvin stepped away from Rowan carefully and crossed toward the damaged window. Cracks still stretched across the glass in jagged lines while Houston glowed beyond it under the heavy dark of early morning.
The city looked normal again.
That honestly felt suspicious now.
“What did she mean?” Rowan asked quietly.
Corvin stayed facing the skyline.
“About what?”
“You know exactly which part.”
The room fell silent again.
Jess looked between them slowly. “I also would like clarification on the horrifying bond comment.”
Malric straightened from the floor. “Same.”
Corvin exhaled once through his nose before turning back toward them.
“The bond between Rowan and me should have killed her.”
Nobody spoke.
Rowan blinked once. “Cool.”
Jess stared at Corvin. “I’m sorry, what?”
“A human forming a direct soul bond with something like him rarely survives the process,” Malric explained carefully.
Jess looked horrified. “You say things like that way too casually.”
“It’s been a long night.”
“That is everybody’s excuse tonight.”
Rowan’s attention stayed locked on Corvin.
“You knew?”
His gaze settled steadily on hers. “Yes.”
A strange mixture of emotions hit her all at once.
Fear. Anger. Hurt.
And underneath all of it, the terrible understanding that he probably carried that guilt every second he looked at her.
“You never told me.”
“I intended to.”
“That feels suspiciously untrue.”
Corvin accepted that without arguing.
Rowan dragged both hands through her hair before pacing a few steps across the apartment. “Okay. Great. Fantastic. Ancient city monster aside, apparently I also survived supernatural soulmate near-death trauma.”
“Technically,” Malric said, “you died a little.”
Jess looked horrified again. “Why would you say that out loud?”
Malric paused. “That may have been unnecessary.”
“That may have been psychologically damaging.”
Rowan stopped pacing long enough to point at Malric. “You are genuinely terrible at comfort.”
“I’ve been told that repeatedly.”
Corvin’s attention never left Rowan.
“You should sit down.”
Rowan stared at him incredulously. “You think now is the moment for rest?”
“I think you’re overwhelmed.”
“Well observed.”
The softness in his expression nearly undid her.
That was the problem with Corvin lately. The terrifying immortal act would have been easier to manage. Instead he kept looking at her like she mattered more than his own survival.
And somehow that was worse.
Jess looked between them slowly.
“Oh my God.”
Neither of them looked away from each other.
Jess pointed vaguely between them. “You two are having a deeply emotional supernatural staring contest right now.”
Rowan closed her eyes briefly. “Jess.”
“No, because I almost died tonight and now I’m noticing things.”
“We did not almost die,” Corvin replied calmly.
Jess gestured toward the destroyed apartment. “Agree to disagree.”
Malric moved toward the kitchen area, stepping carefully around broken glass. “Unfortunately, she’s correct.”
Corvin finally looked toward him. “You think the entity can cross fully?”
“No.” Malric grabbed an unopened bottle of water from the counter before continuing. “I think she wanted us to know she’s awake.”
The tension in the room sharpened again immediately.
Rowan leaned against the edge of the couch, exhausted creeping heavily into her bones now that adrenaline had started fading.
“You keep saying awake,” she said quietly. “What exactly is she?”
Malric looked toward Corvin first.
Corvin’s expression hardened slightly.
Which was answer enough.
Jess noticed too. “Oh good. We’ve reached the classified information portion of the trauma.”
Corvin stayed silent for another moment before speaking.
“She’s older than the Council.”
Nobody moved.
Even Malric looked uneasy hearing it said aloud.
Rowan felt cold all over again.
“That’s impossible,” Jess whispered.
Corvin’s gaze shifted back toward the skyline beyond the cracked windows.
“No,” he said quietly. “Unfortunately, it isn’t.”