Chapter 25 · The Forbidden Gate

"Open the gate, Lord Warden, or I cut your doctor loose." The guard pressed a knife under Mira Kade's jaw and shoved her against the iron bars.

Silas Renn stood three steps away, coat open, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. His other hand held the Bastion seal. Red wax. Black crown. The thing that could open the gate, close the city, or condemn half the lower wards to burn.

His eyes stayed on the blade at Mira's throat.

"Take your knife off her," Silas said.

The guard laughed. "You don't give orders here. Not anymore."

Mira's pulse kicked against the metal. She kept her hands raised, fingers spread. A narrow strip of the guard's sleeve brushed her cheek. He smelled like old leather, sweat, and cheap spirits.

"He's right," she said. "You look a little useless without your throne."

Silas's gaze snapped to her face. "You want to keep talking?"

"I want him distracted. You want me alive. We all have hobbies."

The guard jerked her head back. The knife nicked skin. A thin line of heat ran beneath her jaw.

Silas moved one inch forward.

The guard's blade dug deeper. "Stay there.