Chapter 7 · The First Lie

"Step back, Rowan. Now."

Mara didn't just say it. She slammed the muzzle of her sidearm into my ribs, pinning me against the damp archive wall. The metal was ice, but her breath was hot against my neck. A sharp, jagged contrast that made my skin prickle.

"I just want the truth, Mara," I gasped. My chest heaved. The life-link hummed—a low, vibrating frequency in my marrow. It told me exactly how fast her heart was hammering.

She was terrified. Or pissed. With her, it was always both.

"The truth is for people who aren't about to get their heads blown off by a Nightbound strike team," she snapped. Her eyes searched mine, flickering between hatred and something that looked dangerously like desperation. "You don't want the truth. You want a way to stop the clock without losing another piece of your soul."

I tried to shift. She leaned in closer, her body pressing against mine to keep me locked. I could smell ozone and gunpowder clinging to her leather gear—the scent of someone who lived in the dirt and blood of the infected zones.

My pulse spiked. Through the bond, I felt her flinch. She felt it too.