Chapter 6 · You Smell Like My Enemy

"Hold still. You're shaking," Vivian whispered.

Her fingers were cool against my jaw, tilting my face up. I was pinned against the edge of the workbench in her private lab, the scent of ozone and expensive vanilla clinging to her. It was a dangerous distance. Too close. I could see the gold flecks in her irises and the way her lower lip hitched just a fraction.

"I'm not shaking," I lied, though my heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. "I'm just... cold."

Vivian let out a soft, humming sound. She didn't pull away. Instead, her thumb brushed my cheekbone, a slow, deliberate motion that made my skin prickle. "You're always cold, Tess. Or always nervous. Which one is it today?"

I swallowed hard. The collar hidden under my high collar felt like a lead weight, a ticking bomb waiting for Silas to press the button. I wanted to lean into her. I wanted to tell her that I was terrified of the thing I was supposed to be—