Chapter 15 · The Blood Pit Ledger

My feet won't stop.

I dig my heels into the sidewalk. I grab a parking meter. My hand slips right off and my legs keep going, one foot in front of the other, pulling me down the block like I'm on a leash I can't see.

Karl grabs my elbow from behind. "Stop walking."

"I'm trying." My voice comes out thin. "It's not—it's not me."

He yanks me backward into an alley. My feet keep trying to move forward. He pins me against the brick wall, hands on my shoulders, and I can feel the mark under my shirt burning hot enough to blister.

"Three days left," he says. His voice is flat. "The bond's pulling you to Eli because it thinks I'm not strong enough to hold you anymore."

"So feed." I shove at his chest. "Fix it."

"Feeding buys hours. Not days." He lets go of me but stays close, blocking my body from moving forward. "There's only one thing that breaks a blood bond before it locks."

"The cure. Marcus said—"

"Marcus doesn't know where to get the ingredient." Karl's jaw tightens. "I do."

I wait.