Chapter 14 · The Number Moved

Sona slammed him against the wall, forearm across his throat, blade pressed to his collarbone. "Explain it," she said, "before I decide you're the one who burned it there."

"I didn't do this," Rhys said, trying to keep his voice steady.

She pressed the blade deeper, not enough to cut, but enough to make a point. "You knew it was here before I found it. You were relieved it wasn't a two."

Rhys swallowed hard. She wasn't wrong. That was the problem.

"Relieved doesn't mean I burned it," he said, trying to keep his cool.

Sona's eyes narrowed, green-gray and unyielding. "Then what does it mean?" Her breath was quick, controlled, and furious, and Rhys could feel the heat coming off the wound in the stone, and under that, her body heat, making his skin prickle.

"I...I read things," he said, weakly.

"Read what?" Sona's voice was like a slap.

"Signs," Rhys said, knowing it sounded weak.

Sona's face twisted, like she'd tasted something rotten. "Signs. There's a book, isn't there? I've seen you write in it at night."

Rhys's pulse kicked up.