"IF THE FEEDING failed tomorrow… and you had to choose between saving me or saving yourself… who would you choose?"
Her words hovered in the silence, fragile as glass yet deadly as steel, threatening to shatter at any breath.
Mailah watched Grayson's face, searching for any flicker of hesitation, any moment where he might weigh his options.
There was none.
"You," he said without missing a beat, his voice carrying the absolute certainty of gravity itself. "I would save you. No questions asked. No discussion needed."
The immediate, unwavering response should have brought her comfort, but instead it sent a chill racing down her spine.
There had been no pause, no consideration of alternatives, no hint of self-preservation in his tone. It was the voice of a man who had already made his choice long before she'd asked the question.
