Chapter 27 · He Remembers the Fire

I corner him in the east tower stairwell twenty minutes after the courtyard clears.

He's leaning against the stone wall, left arm cradled against his ribs. The contract mark is still smoking. Black lines crawl up from his wrist like something alive, branching under the sleeve of his jacket. His face is pale. His shoulder's bleeding through the bandage.

He doesn't look surprised to see me.

"You knew," I say.

Cain doesn't answer. He just watches me with those dark eyes, the same ones that looked at me across the fire pit last time. The same ones that were the last thing I saw before I died.

"You knew the mark would jump to you."

He shifts his weight. Winces. "No."

"Liar."

"I didn't know." His voice is flat. "But I'm not surprised."

I take another step closer. He doesn't back up. There's nowhere to go anyway—the stairwell dead-ends here, and I'm blocking the only exit.

"Why you?" I ask. "I chose Marcus. I kissed him. The contract should've locked to him."

"Contracts don't care who you kiss." Cain's jaw tightens. "They care who you're bound to."

"I'm not bound to you."

"Your mark says otherwise.