Pāhonoa te oro

His hand was around my throat before I could scream. Not tight enough to bruise, just enough to remind me how easily he could. The rain hammered the alley behind The Eclipse, soaking through my coat and dragging my hair against my skin. Kai Draven stood over me without urgency, like nothing in the world could rush him. Water slid down, his jaw slowly, almost deliberately, as if even the storm didn’t touch him unless he allowed it. “You shouldn’t be here, Elena,” he said, his voice low and steady