Chapter 19 · Choose Me Without the Vow

"Put the blade here," I said, pressing Cedric's dagger beneath my jaw. "And don't you dare tell me to trust you."

His hand closed around mine before I could drag the edge across skin. Heat wrapped my fingers. The steel stayed against my throat, cold enough to bite.

"Have you lost your mind?" Cedric's voice dropped low.

"No. I finally found it."

The archive groaned around us. Shelves leaned over cracked stone. Dust shook loose from the ceiling and sprinkled across Cedric's black coat. Behind him, the sealed order lay half buried beneath a fallen beam, its red wax mark still visible.

The execution order.

The paper my family had died for.

Cedric looked from the blade to my face. His grip tightened, not enough to hurt. Enough to stop me.

"You want proof?" he asked.

"I want the truth."

"You have been asking for the truth since the day you walked into my fortress with three names and a knife hidden in your sleeve."

"And you've been giving me half of it."

His mouth went flat. "Because the other half gets you killed."

"You mean it gets your secrets killed.