Page 188 of Celestial Combat

“Say something!” I cried. “Saysomething!”

When I swung again, he finally moved – his hands shot up and grabbed my wrists, catching me mid-swing.

I struggled harder, panting, kicking my legs out as he stood and walked me backward, pinning me down on the couch in one smooth motion.

“Get off me!” I screamed, twisting underneath him.

“Calm down and I will!” His face was close – too close – his weight pressing me into the cushions like hewantedme to feel just how trapped I was.

I thrashed once more, but his grip was unrelenting.

“You pulled a gun on my brother,” I hissed, breathless.

“You calm now?” he asked quietly, his voice stripped of its earlier steel.

“Not even close,” I whispered.

His eyes searched mine, but all I felt was heat – boiling frustration, confusion, betrayal.

“Will you tell me what the hell is going on!” I demanded, chest rising with every breath I could barely control.

He looked at me for a long moment, like he was trying to decide how much of himself he was ready to give.

“Remember how I said I’d been looking for something I never found?” His voice was low, almost a whisper against the hum of the jet.

I blinked, confused. “What?”

“You asked me why I didn’t settle down earlier. On our rooftop.” His eyes didn’t waver.

I nodded slowly, my stomach sinking before I even knew why.

Zane’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “My mother’s name was Yui.”

My world tilted.

My lips parted, but nothing came out.

The air was sucked out of the room.

“Oh my God…” The words tumbled from me in a hoarse whisper.

I moved out from under him in a panic, scrambling upright on the couch, and he didn’t stop me. I needed distance. Space.Something.

“Kali – ”

“What were you going to do if it had been my parents?” I asked, my voice sharp with disbelief.

He didn’t answer.

“Would you have shot my brother?”

His jaw was clenched, gaze burning, but his silence spoke louder than any denial.

“Oh my God…” I shook my head, feeling sick. “Zane…”

“Kali.”

But I couldn’t listen.

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