Chapter 29 · Blood-Locked Truths

"Don't touch the seal, Sloane. Unless you want your heart to stop beating right here in the dirt."

Kaelen’s hand clamped around my wrist, his grip like a vice. He didn't just stop me; he jerked me back, pulling my chest flush against his. I could feel the heat radiating off him, the smell of ozone and dried blood clinging to his skin after the slaughter in the tunnels. His eyes weren't the soft, puppy-like eyes he used when he wanted me to praise him. They were gold, glowing, and dangerous.

"Let go," I snapped, though my breath hitched. "I'm the one who made you, Kaelen. I know how this vault works."

"You made a shell," he whispered, leaning in until his lips were inches from my ear. His voice had dropped an octave, vibrating through my spine. "But you didn't make the thing that's screaming inside it. Can't you hear it?"

I froze. He was right. Beneath the silence of the stone corridor, there was a hum. A low, rhythmic thrumming that felt less like sound and more like a heartbeat.