Chapter 5 SMOKE AND BOUNDARIES

Zaya didn't sleep. Even in the softest bed she'd ever touched, in silk sheets and silence, her mind stayed wired-trapped between fury and confusion. Kael Donovan had made it clear: he owned the room, the rules, and her options. Yet something about him didn't feel like your typical monster. That was the worst part. It made it harder to hate him completely. She sat by the window in a robe, knees pulled to her chest, watching the Manhattan skyline turn pale blue with morning. She didn't hear him enter. "You always this quiet in the morning?" Zaya jerked, her heart skipping.

Kael stood by the door, hands in his pockets, watching her like always-silent, sharp-eyed, unreadable. "Do you enjoy sneaking up on people?" she snapped. "You're just not used to people who move quietly," he replied. She rolled her eyes and looked away. "I assume you've read the full contract." "I read enough to know you're insane." Kael smirked and stepped closer. "You didn't sign it." "Because I'm not yours," she said through clenched teeth. He tilted his head. "But you're still here." "Because I have no choice." "There's always a choice," he said. "Yours just come with consequences." Zaya stood, wrapping the robe tighter around herself. "You keep saying things like that-'choice' and 'consequences' as if I haven't been caged since I stepped foot in this place." Kael studied her in silence for a moment before speaking. "I don't expect you to like the arrangement. I expect you to survive it." Zaya's brows furrowed. "Survive?" He moved closer. "This isn't about comfort, Zaya. It's about trust. And you and I we're going to find out how far that can stretch." She laughed bitterly. "You want trust? Try honesty. Why me? Out of all the ways you could've punished my brother, why take *me*?" His eyes didn't waver. "Because you're the only thing he ever protected. That made you valuable." Her stomach turned. "So I'm leverage?" "You were. Now, you're something else." "What am I now, Kael?" He paused. "A test." Zaya took a shaky breath. She didn't want to ask, but the words came anyway. "And what happens if I fail?" His voice was low. Cold. "I stop pretending to be kind." She stared at him, her heart pounding. She didn't know what scared her more his threat, or the quiet calm he used to deliver it.