Chapter 27 · Hollowborn - Chapter 27: Every Name Has a Price

Marcus's voice gets closer. I slam the journal shut and shove it in my jacket. The map on my wrist flickers once, then dies. Great.

I spin around. The interrogation room has one exit—the door Marcus is walking through right now. No windows. No vents big enough to crawl through. Just walls covered in my name, over and over, like someone was trying to erase me by writing me down.

Footsteps stop outside.

"Come on out, Ivy." Marcus sounds almost cheerful. "We can do this the easy way."

I press against the wall beside the door. My fingers find the silver nail in my pocket—the one I pulled out of Cole. Still warm. Still humming with something that feels wrong.

The door swings open slow.

Marcus walks in alone. No guards. No backup. He glances at the table where the journal was, then at my jacket. Smiles.

"You read it," he says. "Good. Saves me the explanation."

I don't move. Don't breathe.

He tilts his head. "Your mother was very thorough. Always was. That's why she lasted as long as she did." He crosses to the table, runs a finger through the dust. "Did she tell you about the pact?