Chapter 19 · The Core Answers

"Drop the seal, Nia, or I cut the pact loose." Eli caught her wrist before the blackglass disk touched her palm.

The stolen seal scraped against his fingers. Heat punched through his glove and climbed straight into the crack beneath his collarbone.

Sera moved faster than either of them. Her blade stopped under Eli’s jaw, close enough for the cold edge to press his skin.

"Let her go," she said.

"She’s holding a court seal that can open the city core. I’m not letting her slap it on her hand because she found it in a dead man’s coat."

Nia twisted against him. "You said the seal was useless."

"I lied. Keep up."

"You lie every six minutes."

"And you steal every time someone blinks. We all have hobbies."

Sera shoved the blade harder. Eli felt a thin line of heat under his jaw.

"You have three seconds," she said. "One."

"You’re counting too fast."

"Two."

Nia drove her heel into Eli’s boot and ripped her wrist free. The seal flashed between them.

Eli grabbed for it. Sera caught the back of his coat and yanked him away from Nia. His shoulders slammed into her chest.