Marin's knees shook as she helped herself up, feeling a thrill she couldn't explain. Danger had never felt so alive—or so intoxicating.
"You're… not like anyone I've met," she whispered, the words catching in her throat.
"And neither are you," he said, his gaze softening just enough to make her heart hammer. "Most humans can't survive what you just saw without screaming. You… you didn't flinch."
Her chest tightened, not from fear this time, but from the closeness of him. His presence filled the alley, magnetic and suffocating. Her skin tingled at the brush of his sleeve against hers.
A sharp hiss sounded behind them, and Marin whipped around. More shadows emerged, dozens this time, moving like smoke. She stumbled backward, but Averic caught her effortlessly, holding her close.
"You have to trust me," he said, his breath brushing against her hair. "If you don't, you'll die before you even understand the rules."
Marin's pulse raced. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but she didn't. She couldn't. And when his silver eyes met hers, something inside her shifted. She wanted to trust him. She wanted to step further into this dark, dangerous world—even if it meant stepping into the unknown… and into him.