Chapter 27 · The King's Bad Heartbeat

"Take your hand off me, Cassian." Sylvia's wrist was trapped against the stone table, his fingers locked around it hard enough to stop the tremor. "If you crush the seal, you crush me with it."

"Then stop trying to tear that shard out of my chest."

"It's killing you."

"It's mine."

His voice came from the man standing over her and from the second pulse beating under her skin. The two sounds hit at once. One was low and furious. The other was thin, uneven, and getting slower.

Sylvia shoved at his shoulder. Cassian didn't move. His coat brushed her arm, still cold from the tunnel, while his palm burned against her wrist. He had lost too much power since the child escaped. His face had gone pale. Black lines crawled from his collar toward his jaw, fading and returning with every bad beat.

The shard in her palm flashed red.

Cassian's grip tightened. "Give it back."

"Gladly. Hold still."

"You don't get to order me around."

"You're the one dying on my table. I absolutely get to order you around."

His eyes dropped to her mouth for half a second.