"Oh, no."
Liam's crimson eyes had widened in panic.
"Oh, noooo!"
He said it again as Arik's arm circled his waist and dragged him away from the hidden room and the looming double doors.
Liam's fingers caught the doorframe.
"Liam, let it go," Arik said in a low, authoritative voice.
"No."
Arik went still.
It was not the answer he wanted.
It was also, regrettably, the answer everyone had expected.
Liam's fingers tightened around the edge of the ancient black frame while Arik held him around the waist with enough control not to hurt him and enough intent to make it very clear he was seconds away from carrying him out like unreasonable cargo.
"Liam."
"If I let go, it may close."
"Good."
"That is not good. That is the opposite of good. That is the equivalent of a confession."
Mezos stepped closer, his eyes were on the double doors, then the floor, then the wall that had opened for Liam's blood and swallowed his own ether without effort.
