Chapter 15 · Take your hand off me

She pressed her bleeding palm against his throat.

The reaction was instant.

Riven jerked as if she had struck him. The black lines under his skin pulled back from his jaw. His arm around her waist went rigid. Heat flashed between their bodies, then dropped into a sharp, freezing pulse that made Mara's teeth click together.

The ash-walkers screamed.

Every guard in the foundry stopped moving.

Riven bent over her shoulder, breathing hard. His hand still held her waist. His fingers had spread across her ribs, not squeezing now, just keeping her upright.

"Take your hand off me," Mara said.

"You are shaking."

"That is the curse, not fear."

"I did not say fear."

"You were thinking it."

"I do not think about you that much."

"Your hand says different."

He looked down. His fingers were still pressed against her side.

For one brief second, neither of them moved.

His body was solid behind hers. His heartbeat knocked against her back, fast and uneven.