Chapter 13 · The Canary's Mask

"Stay still."

Kael's hand slams my shoulder and drives me straight into the obsidian chair. Ice shoots through my thin dress right into my spine.

"I'm still," I snap. "See? Still. You wanna scan me or just bruise me?"

"You spike your frequency in there, the feedback fries your nerves," he hisses. He's right against my ear. Breath hot. Smells like rain and steel. "Don't play martyr. You're gonna lose."

"Who says I'm playing?" I tip my chin up. We're inches apart. I can see the tic in his jaw, the way his fingers dig in harder. "You're the one shaking, Kael. Not me."

"I'm not shaking," he mutters. "You're always playing, Sloane. Always."

He lets go like I burned him. One sharp flick of his wrist and he steps back.

"The Regent's waiting," he says. "Don't make him come back in here."

"Great. Can't wait." My heart's hammering so loud I swear he can hear it. Thump. Thump. Thump.

I know how to beat a polygraph. I did it for a living. Decouple the panic from the pulse. Slow the breath, skip the beat, sell the lie.

But this isn't a polygraph. This thing doesn't read lies.