Chapter 9 · I'm not clean

His face came close enough that his breath warmed my lips.

"I'm not clean," he said. "I'm alive."

"Barely."

"Still counts."

A monitor beside us gave a thin warning beep.

Kane's pulse skipped.

Mine followed.

I swore and twisted toward the instrument tray. He released one hand, but only to grab the back of my coat and pull me with him.

"Sit down," he ordered.

"Don't order me around."

"Sit. Down."

"You want me useful? Stop treating me like a prisoner."

"You are a prisoner."

"Then why are you asking for my help?"

"Because you're the only person in this building who can keep me alive."

He shoved a stool behind my knees. I dropped onto it, and he crouched in front of me, still holding my wrist. His face was level with mine now. Too close. His knee pressed against mine through our clothes.

The pact stirred again.

Not pain this time.

A pull.

A demand.

Kane looked down at our joined hands. "What did Lilith trigger?"

"A feedback loop."

"Plain English."

"Every time your curse surges, the pact drags me into it. Every time I resist, it pushes you harder."

"So we need to stop resisting."

"No.