Chapter 10 · The Brass Oath - Chapter 10: The Hound's Mask

"Get your hand off me, Cain, or I swear I’ll break it." Mara drove her elbow back. He caught her wrist before it reached his ribs and slammed her against the brass-lined wall.

The hidden core pulsed between them, sealed inside its iron cradle. Each pulse punched through Mara’s chest a half-second later. Her knees nearly buckled.

Cain’s forearm held her in place. His coat scraped her shoulder. His breath hit the side of her face, warm and controlled, while the corridor behind him filled with the scrape of boots.

"Break my hand after we’re alive," he said. "Right now, you stay quiet."

"That’s your plan? Hide me and hope the council forgets we stole their favorite toy?"

"We didn’t steal it."

"Tell that to the six men coming to shoot us."

He glanced toward the tunnel mouth. Three brass ward-lamps flashed red. The patrol had found the dead-end passage. Mara could hear the metal clicks of rifles being readied.

Cain tightened his grip. "You want to run? Go ahead. I’ll even open the gate for you."

"You’re enjoying this."

"I’m enjoying the part where you’re still breathing."

"Liar. You enjoy giving orders."

The oath under Mara’s skin flared.