Chapter 13 · He could feel the curse under the fabric

He could feel the curse under the fabric.

Not see it. Feel it.

A cold knot curled around Kane’s bones. It had teeth. It resisted every attempt to approach, then tugged at the pact as if it knew exactly where to pull.

Kane watched his face. “What do you see?”

“Nothing.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“Listening.”

“To what?”

“Your blood.”

Kane’s eyes narrowed. “That sounds made up.”

“Everything forbidden sounds made up until it kills you.”

Cillian pressed his palm to Kane’s chest.

The first soul-sync hit like a hammer.

Kane gasped.

Cillian felt the breath enter Kane’s lungs. Felt the ribs expand beneath his hand. Felt the frantic beat of his heart as if it were pounding behind Cillian’s own breastbone.

Then the pain arrived.

It wasn’t Kane’s pain from a distance. It was inside Cillian’s body. His nerves lit up. His spine locked. His fingers dug into Kane’s coat.

Kane’s hand closed around Cillian’s wrist.

“Get off me,” Kane said.

“You’re the one holding me.”

“Then stop making it worse.”

“I’m not making it worse.”

The curse twisted again.

Cillian cried out.