Tears hot and stinging slipped from the corners of Eiravyne's eyes, mixing with the copper-tasting blood on her face.
She swallowed hard, her throat raw.
She could feel the volatile edge he was balancing on; a wrong word would make him sink his teeth back into her throat.
"He... he never..." she choked out, her voice a fragile, trembling thread.
Eiravyne forced her eyes open, staring directly into the fractured gold of his gaze.
"Urag never…n-never."
The moment that name left her lips, the fragile restraint Ilkar had been clinging to shattered completely.
His entire body locked up, a violent tremor tearing through his muscles as his face contorted with an absolute, blinding rage.
Hearing his rival's name spoken aloud by her turned his twisted jealousy into a white-hot explosion.
"You dare say that bastard's name?" Ilkar roared.
