Chapter 42 · Stolen Heartbeat

"Get your hand off me, Cassian, or I swear I'll cut the bond myself."

Sylvia slammed her palm against the stone table. The silver instruments jumped. The black shard buried beneath her collarbone pulsed once, hard enough to knock the breath out of her.

Then it pulsed again.

A hot line of pain ripped across her chest. She folded over the table, knocking a vial to the floor.

"You can't cut it," Cassian said inside her skull. His voice came low and rough, too close to be called a thought. "You know that."

"I can try."

"And die faster."

"You say that like it's a threat."

The shard flashed under her skin. Red light crawled up her neck. Sylvia bit down on a cry and grabbed the table's edge until her fingers went white.

Across the room, the locked iron door rattled.

Someone outside shouted, "Open up! Imperial inspection!"

Sylvia's head snapped toward the door. "You brought them here?"

"If I had brought them, they wouldn't knock."

"That's comforting."

Another blow hit the door. Dust fell from the ceiling.

Cassian pressed harder against her mind. She felt his panic before he buried it, sharp and cold.