EZRA
Silence.
She doesn't move. Doesn’t even breathe. Just stares with a blank look on her face
Then—very softly, like she’s trying not to raise her voice or scream—she says, “You what?”
“I didn’t mean to.” The words taste pathetic. “It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“You marked me?” Her voice rises, brittle. “What does that even mean?”
“It’s a bond. Like… like a tether. I didn’t force it I swear and it wasn't intentional. It just—when I took you that day in my office, something shifted. I felt it. I thought if I ignored it—”
“Ezra.” She stands slowly, her hands trembling. “You marked me?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“Without telling me.”
“I didn’t know how—”
She laughs. Sharp. Cold. “God, of course you didn’t. Why ask me, right? Why tell me anything?”
“I didn’t think it would bring the Nyther
