Chapter 29 · Heartbeat of a Liar

"Take your hand off her, or I’ll break every finger myself."

Master Vale’s fingers tightened around Sylvia’s wrist.

The old surgeon smiled without looking at Cassian. "That’s a brave threat from a man who can’t even hold himself together."

Cassian stood three steps away, one hand pressed against his chest. His coat hung open, and the black mark beneath his collar pulsed like a second shadow. Every pulse made the lamps along the walls spit blue sparks.

Sylvia couldn’t feel his pain through the bond. Not exactly. She felt the pressure of it. A hard, cold squeeze behind her ribs. A warning that kept getting louder.

"Let go," she said.

Vale twisted her arm higher. "You’re in no position to give orders."

"You’re in my clinic, using my tools, with my patient bleeding out on the floor. I’m absolutely in a position to give orders."

"Your patient?" Vale finally glanced at Cassian. "That thing has no right to a name."

Cassian’s eyes went flat.

The air dropped ten degrees.

Vale’s smile slipped. Only for half a second.