Chapter 15 · Her Mom's Second Key

"You're bleeding through the bandage."

Kael didn't look down. He kept his eyes on the tree line, on the dark stretch of forest past the estate wall. His palm was wrapped in gauze from the blood shackle last night, and yeah, it was soaked through now. Red pooling at the edge of the cloth.

"I heal fast," he said.

"Not fast enough." I grabbed his wrist before he could pull away. The bandage was warm under my fingers, damp with fresh blood. "You cut too deep. You didn't have to—"

"I had to make it bind." He finally looked at me, and his eyes were still half-gold. Not human. Not safe. "The contract needed my blood to write back. You saw what it said."

Yeah. I saw.

*Your mother witnessed a Mercer blood oath.*

The words had burned themselves into the parchment after Kael pressed his cut palm against mine.