Kruel came in and Noah caught the fist with both hands, no stagger, no give.
"That's it?" he said, grinning through blood already drying on his lip. "That's the thing that took Lucas's collarbone?"
He shoved back hard enough to knock Kruel off balance and drove a punch straight into the crack already running along his jaw. The fracture spread, purple light bleeding through the seam like something underneath wanted out.
A widow came at him from the side. He'd already caught her tell, the half beat where her tail pulled back before committing, and he blinked three feet clear before her claws arrived. She swept through empty air. He reappeared behind her and opened a line across her back with Rend, shoulder to spine.
"I know what you're capable of," he said, before she could turn on him. "I've seen the real thing."
