Chapter 18 · The Fire Between Us

"Don't touch that door, Cedric!" I slammed my shoulder into him just as the iron archive door buckled inward.

The lock burst. Heat punched across my face. Behind the door, shelves burned in crooked rows, and black smoke rolled over the floor with the original war order trapped somewhere inside.

Cedric caught the back of my coat before I could step through. His fingers dug into the fabric at my neck.

"You heard the order," he said. "You don't get to run in there alone."

"Then stop holding me."

"Lucian's men sealed the estate three minutes ago. Every exit is covered. If you go in, they know exactly where we are."

I twisted against his grip. The collar cut into my throat, and his chest brushed my back. Heat poured off him through the layers between us. The contact should have been distracting. It was. I hated that it was.

"They sealed the estate because they want that order burned," I snapped. "If the original survives, Lucian loses his claim to the northern territory."

"And you lose your life if the ceiling comes down."

"Mine was already on his list. Move.