Chapter 6 · The Boy in the Copper

"You knew." Jace caught her wrist before she could pull back. Her pulse hammered against his fingers. "You knew me before."

Mina tried to twist free. "Let go."

"The kid in the mirror had my face." He tightened his grip, not enough to hurt but enough to hold. "You grabbed me when I tried to answer. You were scared I'd remember something."

"I was scared the tower would eat you alive." She stopped fighting his hold. Her hand was shaking. "There's a difference."

"Is there?" He stepped closer. The exam table pressed into her back. Nowhere left to run. "You've been dragging me through this city like I'm a tool you picked up off the street. Now I find out you knew me before I woke up with half my skull missing."

"Jace—"

"When?" The word came out raw. "When did you treat me? What happened?"

She looked at his hand on her wrist, then at his face. Something cracked behind her eyes. "Three months ago. You came into my clinic bleeding from places blood shouldn't come from. Your meridians were shredded. I patched you up."

"And?"

"And you left." Her voice went flat. "You didn't tell me your name.