Eli's throat locked up the instant his gaze caught the priest's.
Those eyes—those molten, burning eyes—weren't just watching. They were digging into him. Stripping away flesh, thought, soul. Like it knew. Like it understood what he was.
Danger Detection detonated inside his skull, pressure spiking so sharp it made his vision swim.
"Caelen—MOVE!"
He didn't need to say it twice.
Caelen's grip clamped down on his waist, his body coiling like a drawn bow before unleashing raw power.
The ground split under the force of his takeoff, and the world whirled violently as Eli was yanked into the air with him.
A split-second later, the priest's rosary beads obliterated the floor where they'd been. The impact cracked the chamber like thunder, stone erupting upward in a storm of shards that whistled past Eli's ears. His teeth rattled from the sheer force, breath tearing ragged from his lungs.
