Chapter 24 · Breath in the Rain

“Don’t touch me. I can handle it,” Viviane snapped. Her voice cracked right down the middle.

She was pinned against the damp brick of the alley, breath coming in jagged, shallow hitches. Blood soaked through the white silk of her sleeve, turning it a heavy, bruised crimson.

Silas didn't listen. He stepped into her space, boots splashing in the oily rainwater. He gripped her wrist—not gently. He forced her to look at him.

“You can’t even stand straight, Viviane. Stop pretending your pride is a bandage.”

She tried to yank her arm back. She was shaking. The adrenaline was crashing, leaving her hollow and freezing. “I am a High Inquisitor. I don’t need a convicted mage to play nursemaid.”

“You’re an Inquisitor bleeding out in a gutter,” Silas countered. He didn't let go. He stepped closer, chest nearly brushing hers, pinning her between the cold stone and his own heat. “Now hold still, or I’ll let you bleed out and see if the loop brings you back with a better attitude.”

Viviane glared, her eyes shimmering with fury and sheer exhaustion. “You’re arrogant. You’re a criminal. You’re everything the See warns us about.”

“And yet, here we are,” he murmured.