The fire in the fireplace snapped—a sharp, violent c***k that echoed like a gunshot in the silence of the room. Finnegan was vibrating with a suppressed, lethal rage, his massive frame rigid, his claws digging half-moon crescents into his own palms.
Leela moved. Ignoring the lingering exhaustion in her bones, she crossed the room and scooped up Briar, who was tucked against the side of the armchair, whimpering softly at the suffocating pressure of her father's aura. Shifting Briar to her hip, Leela reached down and gently pried Caspian from where he was clinging to Elana’s leg.
Bearing the heavy, grounding weight of both her children, Leela stepped directly into the epicenter of the storm. She pressed her forehead flat against Finnegan’s sternum, over the violent, thundering rhythm of h
