Chapter 15 · Cracks in the Gilded Cage

“Don’t move. Not a muscle.”

Cain’s voice sliced through the dark. A whisper, but it pinned me to the stone wall like a nail. Cold seeped through my clothes, but the heat coming off him? That was worse. It was a furnace.

“Where is he?” I breathed. My voice shook. I couldn't help it. “The man. Where did he go?”

“Quiet,” Cain snapped.

*Shink.*

The sound of a blade leaving its sheath echoed off the damp walls. Lethal. Final.

Then, a flare. A torch ignited at the end of the corridor, throwing jagged shadows across the floor. The survivor was gone. In his place? Nothing. Just a void.

*BOOM.*

The heavy iron door behind us slammed shut. The vibration rattled my teeth.

Cain didn’t even flinch at the noise. He turned to me. His eyes were glowing—that predatory gold bleeding through the iris. He stepped closer, boots clicking on the wet stone, until he was so close I could feel the air leave my lungs.

“You were too curious, Ivy,” he murmured.

He didn’t grab me. He didn’t have to. He just leaned in, chest inches from mine, forcing me to tilt my head back to meet his gaze.