"What the hell was that?"
I screamed, scrambling back from the heap of charred meat that used to be a man. My hands weren't just shaking—they were vibrating. There was this heat under my skin, like I’d swallowed a handful of live coals.
Cain didn't flinch. He just stood there, watching the smoke curl off the floor. His eyes were locked on me with a hunger that made my stomach flip. He didn't look horrified. He looked like he’d just hit the jackpot.
"Don't touch me," I snapped as he stepped forward.
I slammed my back against the cold stone wall. The chill barely touched the fever screaming through my blood.
"Touch you?" Cain’s voice was a low growl. He moved slow. Deliberate. "Ivy, you just erased a High-Rank Hunter from existence in three seconds. You don't get to tell me where to stand."
"I didn't do it! I don't even know how—"
Blur.
He was on me before I could breathe. One hand slammed into the wall beside my head, the impact rattling my teeth. He leaned in, his chest nearly brushing mine. Cedar and metallic blood filled my lungs. He was too close. Way too close.
"Liar," he whispered, breath hot against my ear. "You felt it. That rush. That power. It didn't come from me, and it definitely didn't come from your pathetic low-blood lineage."
I shoved his chest. It was like pushing a mountain. I could feel the hard, steady thud of his heart through the expensive fabric of his shirt. "Get off me, Cain. I mean it."
He didn't budge. He shifted his weight, pinning me firmer against the stone. His other hand gripped my chin, forcing me up. His touch was searing.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "Not the girl your family sold. Not the defect. Who's actually hiding behind those eyes?"
"I'm nobody!" I yelled, twisting my face away. "I'm just a mistake!"
"A mistake doesn't ignite a room with forbidden blood." His grip tightened. A warning. "You're a weapon, Ivy. A broken, leaking weapon. And now that I've signed that contract, you belong to me. Every single drop of that power is mine to manage."
I glared at him, my breath hitching. "I'm not a thing. I'm not your property."
"The contract says otherwise." He smirked. A cruel, beautiful twist of his lips. "Check your wrist."
I looked down. The mark of the blood contract was glowing a deep, pulsing crimson. It felt like a shackle made of fire. Every heartbeat, the mark throbbed in sync. I was tied to his whim.
"You're a monster," I whispered.
"And you're a miracle," he replied. His voice dropped to a dangerous, intimate level. He leaned closer, lips almost touching mine.
For a second, the anger vanished. The tension was so thick I could taste it. I could feel the heat radiating off him, the sheer gravity of his presence pulling me in even as I wanted to scream.
He didn't kiss me. He just lingered, letting me feel exactly how much power he had over me. Then, he pulled back abruptly. The cold air rushed back in.
"Look at the screen," he commanded, nodding toward the holographic bounty board.
My face was there. The reward was staggering—more credits than my entire family had seen in three generations. But the timer next to my name made my blood run cold.
00:54:12. Counting down.
"What is that?"
"A deadline," Cain said, walking back toward the desk. "The hunters aren't just looking for you. They've activated a 'Blood-Scent' beacon. In less than an hour, every professional killer in this district will know exactly which room you're breathing in."
"You have to hide me," I said, panic surging. "Get me out of here!"
"Why would I?" He glanced over his shoulder with a mocking tilt of his head. "You're more useful if I see who survives the attempt to take you. Besides, I want to see if you can do that trick again."
"You're insane! I'll die!"
"You won't," he said, voice flat. Certain. "Because I haven't given you permission to die. Now, sit. Stay. And try not to burn the palace down while I figure out how to monetize your existence."
I didn't sit. I paced. I looked at the door, then the window. No way out. A gilded cage with a man who viewed me as a high-yield asset.
I stopped by the vanity. Pale skin. Wide eyes. But there was a spark in my pupils. A hunger. I hated it. I hated that I felt *alive* for the first time since arriving in this city.
"Stop pacing," Cain snapped. "You're making me nervous, and when I'm nervous, I tend to do things that hurt people."
"Oh, I'm so sorry my anxiety is inconveniencing your schedule," I snapped back. "Maybe if you weren't a sociopath, I'd be calmer."
He actually laughed. A short, dry sound. "Honesty. I like that. It'll make it more entertaining when you eventually beg me for protection."
"Never," I whispered.
00:42:09.
I sank into a chair, adrenaline fading into a dull ache. The heat in my blood settled into a low simmer. I closed my eyes, trying to remember my mother's face. She'd told me blood was a lie. That we were more than our ranks. I wondered if she'd lied just to make me feel better.
*Knock. Knock. Knock.*
Quick. Rhythmic.
Cain was on his feet instantly, hand sliding into the concealed holster at his hip. "Who is it?"
No answer. Just a metallic *clink* against the door.
Cain opened the door a crack. Hallway empty. Only a small, black cylinder rolling on the marble floor. He picked it up, brow furrowed.
"What is it?" I asked, standing up.
He pressed a button. A tiny, holographic projector flickered to life. A voice—raspy, old, and terrified—filled the room.
*"Regent Cain. If you are holding the girl, listen carefully. The blood she carries isn't a defect. It's a key. And the people who killed her mother... they're coming back for the rest of the set."*
I froze. "What?" I breathed. "My mother... she died years ago."
Cain looked at the hologram, then back at me. His expression shifted from amusement to something lethal.
"The message didn't say she was dead, Ivy," Cain whispered. "It said they killed her *mother*. Which means your mother is still—"
*BOOM.*
The far wall disintegrated in a shower of stone and fire. A figure emerged from the smoke, clad in obsidian armor, a jagged blade humming with violet energy.
"Give us the girl, Regent," the intruder roared, "or we'll paint this palace in your blood."
Cain didn't flinch. He stepped in front of me, his presence expanding, suffocating the room. He didn't look back, but I felt his hand brush my waist—a brief, possessive touch.
"Get behind me," he commanded. "And Ivy?"
"What?"
"Try not to kill him too quickly. I want to know where this message came from."
As the assassin leaped, the blade whistling through the air, the heat in my veins snapped. It wasn't a simmer. It was a goddamn volcano.
I didn't hide. I stepped out from behind Cain, my hand reaching for the intruder's throat. As my fingers closed, a voice whispered in my head—a voice from my oldest nightmares.
*"Now, my sweet girl. Show them what happens when a defect bites back."*