Chapter 26 · The Voice Behind the Voice

"Don't touch that door, Mara." Julian caught my wrist before my bloodied hand reached the red-lit seal.

His grip was hot. Too hot. His pulse hammered against my skin.

Behind him, the vault screamed without making a sound. Red letters crawled across the stone.

WHO ORDERED THE ARDEN FIRE—

The final line stopped halfway. Every light in the chamber snapped off.

A second later, the outer doors boomed.

Celeste's voice rolled through the metal. "Julian! Step away from her. Now."

Julian pulled me against his chest and put himself between me and the door. His coat scraped my cheek. He smelled like smoke, iron, and sharp cedar.

"You heard her," he said. "Stay back."

"You heard the vault. It needs the seal moved."

"It needs your blood. That doesn't mean you get to walk into a trap."

"You don't get to decide that for me."

His fingers tightened around my wrist. "I do when you're bleeding all over the floor."

"Then stop staring at the blood and look at the door."

The metal buckled inward.

Dust dropped from the ceiling.