The instant Nae Mandian imagined the young female's life being snuffed out—and Jasper collapsing alongside her ruin—an almost intoxicating thrill surged through him. The anticipation made his blood sing. Watching another male fall from grace had always delighted him, but this? This was exquisite.
While they spoke casually of her death, as though discussing the weather, Rory calmly slipped her hand into her storage band.
Her fingers closed around a familiar object.
The black crystal Paros had given her.
When Paros had pressed the crystal into her palm, he had given her only one warning—that it contained something terrifyingly powerful. If shattered using mental force, it would release a violent surge of energy equivalent to Rank Eleven. Anything beneath that threshold—therian, Chitinid, beast, or otherwise—would be wiped from existence without exception.
At the time, she had believed she would never need such a thing.
Yet here she stood.
