Chapter 30 · Ash Ledger - Chapter 30: Under the Traitor's Flag

"You're bleeding on my floor."

Mara didn't look up. She was sitting on the stone bench in the corner of the vault, one hand pressed flat against her side, the other holding a folded piece of parchment like it might explode if she let go.

"Your floor?" she said. Her voice was rough. "You own this now?"

"I opened it." I stepped closer, keeping my hand near the knife on my belt. The brand on my chest was still hot under my shirt, still pulsing like something alive. "That makes it mine until someone takes it."

"Someone will." She finally looked at me. Her eyes were dark, tired, but sharp enough to cut. "Ilan's already got men searching the lower hall. They heard the stone move."

"Then we don't have long."

"No." She lifted the parchment. "We don't."

I crossed the room in three steps and tried to take it from her. She jerked it back, and I caught her wrist instead. Her pulse hammered against my fingers.

"Let go," she said.

"Show me what you're holding."

"It's mine."

"Nothing down here is yours." I tightened my grip, just enough. "You came through my door. You bled on my floor.