Chapter 20 · Night of the Mark

"Don't you dare pull away."

Kane's voice was a low vibration I felt deep in my own chest. He had me pinned. Cold stone of the bedpost against my spine, his fingers digging into my shoulders hard enough to leave bruises.

His breath hit my skin—hot, smelling of iron and a storm about to break. I tried to twist my wrist, but he slammed his palm against the wood beside my head.

No exit.

"You're a weapon, Elara," he hissed. His eyes were bleeding from gold to a predatory red. "Silas told me you could kill me. One touch. One slip of your blood, and I'm gone. Is that the plan? You want to be the girl who brought the King to his knees?"

"I don't even know what I am!" I shouted back. My voice cracked, raw and desperate. I stopped fighting for a second, staring up at him. "You think I want this? You think I enjoy being the leash for your madness?"

He let out a sharp, jagged laugh. He leaned in. Closer.

The tip of his nose brushed mine. The air between us turned electric, thick enough to choke on.