Chapter 6 · Die Better This Time

Cass jerked his hand back the second the voice stopped. The seal was still glowing on the door, pulsing like a second heartbeat, and Mara's fingers were still hot where they'd been clamped around his wrist.

"What did you hear?" she asked.

He didn't answer. The ring on his finger had stopped burning but his palm was slick with sweat. Don't trust the girl. His own voice. Or something wearing it.

Mara stepped between him and the door. Her knife was out. He hadn't seen her draw it. "Cass. What did you hear."

"Nothing useful." He shoved past her, heading for the stairs. His legs felt like they belonged to someone else. "We need to move. The first wave hits the main hall in twenty minutes."

"You're lying."

"Yeah, well, you're holding a knife." He took the steps two at a time. The air was cooler up here, less like a crypt. "Call it even."

She caught up to him at the landing. Grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. The edge of her blade stopped an inch from his throat. Not touching. Just there.

"I pulled you out of a spiral curse," she said. Her voice was quiet.