Chapter 41 · Blood Test

"Take your hand off her."

Silas did not even look at the council guard gripping my wrist.

He looked at me.

His fingers closed around the back of my neck, warm and hard, and he pulled me against his chest before the guard could drag me another step. My shoulder hit Silas's sternum. His coat brushed my cheek. I caught the sharp scent of smoke, iron, and the clean soap he used after tending my wounds.

The guard froze.

So did I.

"I said, take your hand off her," Silas repeated.

The guard's grip tightened. "The council ordered Ivy to stand before them. You don't get to hide her every time she breaks a rule."

Silas finally turned his head.

That was all it took.

The guard released me so fast my arm dropped between us. Silas caught my wrist before it swung into the stone table, then pulled me even closer. His palm covered the inside of my wrist, right over the thin red mark the blood bond had left there.

Heat flashed beneath my skin.

I sucked in a breath.

His eyes cut down to my wrist. One warning.