Chapter 9 · The Door Wants Blood

"You can't go through that door alone."

Kael's voice cuts through the ringing in my ears. I'm still staring at the black door Selene disappeared into, the auction floor a wreck behind us—overturned chairs, shattered glass, blood smeared across marble. Milo's gone. She took him.

"Watch me," I say.

I move for the door. Kael catches my wrist.

His grip's tight, careful. The debt mark on my skin flares hot where his fingers press. I yank back, but he doesn't let go.

"Listen to me," he says. "That door's keyed to hunter blood. You walk through it without clearance, it'll rip you apart."

"Then give me clearance."

"It doesn't work like that."

I twist hard, break his grip. "Then tell me what does work, because my brother's on the other side and I'm not leaving him with her."

Kael steps between me and the door. He's still bleeding from the bolt that grazed his shoulder during the fight, dark blood soaking through his shirt. The curse mark on his neck pulses faint silver under the ruined chandeliers.

"You go through that door blind, you're dead," he says. "She wants you dead or leashed. Either way, Milo loses.