Xavier and Xander were kneeling on the floor, arms raised above their heads in penance, like two unruly children caught red-handed.
I sat across from them, arms crossed, one leg draped over the other, my gaze cold and cutting, still sharp with the fury that hadn't yet settled. Even now, my body trembled slightly from the aftershock.
"I didn't even do anything." Xander muttered.
"Shut it."
My voice cracked like a whip. He flinched and lowered his gaze instantly, silenced.
There was never an emotional tether between us. One week together aboard the Black Leviathan wasn't nearly enough for anything real to grow, let alone the strange, possessive behavior he'd shown earlier.
It had to be the system's meddling. The spike in his affection points above his head was too sudden, too artificial.
