Morning light leaks through the cracked shutters in thin stripes across the tangled wreck of sheets and limbs that is us. I wake first, like always, ears twitching at the faint clatter of carts outside, tail already curled three times around Master’s thigh, holding him trapped against me. My cheek is pressed to his chest, rising and falling with his slow breaths, one arm locked around his waist, claws lightly hooked into his skin so he can’t shift without me knowing. Blonde hair spills everywhere, over his shoulder, across my face, mingling with his until no one could tell where I end and he begins.

  The door still hangs crooked off its hinges, a jagged mouth letting cold air and hallway noise seep in, but Master doesn’t even glance at it. He’s had worse rooms, worse nights, worse mornings. And now he has me. That’s all that matters. I nuzzle higher.

  I’m halfway through purring louder, when heavy boots thunder down the corridor. My ears snap flat, a snarl ripping out of me before the knock even lands. The leader from last night shoves the broken door aside and steps in without waiting, face grim but different now, calculating, almost respectful. He stops just inside the threshold, eyes flicking over the spear and shield I left within reach, then to the way I’m wrapped around Master like a living chain.

  I’m on my knees in an instant, body arched between him and Master, tail bushed huge, claws out, lips peeled back in a vicious hiss. Blonde hair falls wild over my shoulders, blue eyes slitted and glowing. One hand plants on Master’s chest, pinning him protectively to the mattress even though he doesn’t need it, the other reaches for the spear haft, fingers curling around it, ready to drive the copper iron point through the leader’s throat if he so much as breathes wrong.

  But the man raises both hands, slow, palms out. “Easy, kitten,” he mutters, voice rough but lacking last night’s venom. “Not here to drag anyone out. Here to hire you. Properly this time. After last night… council wants people who can get things done quiet and messy when needed. You two just proved you’re exactly that.”

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  My snarl doesn’t fade, but my ears flick forward a fraction, listening. The spear stays leveled at his chest, tail lashing hard.

  Master stirs beneath me, his chest rising slow and deep, and the low murmur rolls out of him. “Give us some embercrack tea and we’ll be right with you.”

  That’s all. No glance at the splintered door, no flicker of annoyance at the man still standing in our room, no memory of last night’s swords and threats. Just calm, lazy command, as if the leader is a servant who wandered in with breakfast instead of the same fool who tried to drag us out hours ago.

  My ears flick back hard, a fresh snarl vibrating in my throat. The spear is still gripped tight in my right hand, shield strapped to my left forearm, tail bushed huge and lashing side to side, slapping the mattress with sharp thumps. Every hair on my body bristles at the audacity of this intruder thinking he can come back, thinking he can offer anything to my Master without begging on his knees first.

  But Master’s words sink into me He’s not worried. He’s not even bothered. Which means I decide how much blood gets spilled this morning.

  I uncoil from my protective crouch, rising to my full height between the leader and the bed, spear tip lifting until it hovers a finger’s breadth from the man’s throat. My tail snaps around Master’s ankle under the sheets, looping twice, anchoring me to him even as I lean forward.

  “Embercrack tea,” I echo, voice a velvet hiss dripping with venom and mockery. “Hot. Strong. Two cups. One for my Master, one for me. You have until the steam stops rising to bring it back here, or I’ll carve a new smile across your neck and drink it from your skull instead.”

  My free hand reaches back without looking, fingers sliding possessively over Master’s chest, claws dragging lightly through the fabric to feel his heartbeat, steady, perfect, mine.

  The leader swallows, eyes flicking from the spear point to Master’s bored expression, then back to my slitted, glowing stare. He backs up a step, hands still raised, and nods once, jerky.

  I don’t lower the spear until he’s out in the corridor. Only then do I let it fall, spinning to pounce back onto the bed. I drop my face to his neck, inhaling deep.

  My purr erupts, broken and trembling. “You didn’t even flinch,” I whisper against his pulse, voice cracking with manic adoration. “You sent him running twice now. All mine. My perfect, untouchable Master.”