Chapter 20 · Your Shadow Is Lying

"Drop it, Mara."

The knife was already at his throat. My hand wouldn't stop shaking, the blade vibrating against his skin.

Cael didn't move. He didn't even try to grab my wrist. He just knelt there, breathing hard, sweat slicking his forehead, letting me hold the bell-knife to his pulse like I had every right to kill him.

"I said drop it," he whispered. "You don't want to do this."

"Don't tell me what I want." My voice sounded wrong. Hoarse. Like someone else was using my mouth. "Who are you?"

His face twisted. "What?"

"Who. Are. You." I pressed the blade closer. A thin line of blood welled under the edge. Hot against the cold steel. "Say your name. Now."

Cael stared at me. His eyes were red, fever-bright. The contract mark on his neck was pulsing, burning through the skin.

"Mara, it's me," he said. "It's Cael. You're looking right at me."

"I don't know you." The words came out flat. True. I didn't. I knew how to cut him. I knew exactly where his carotid was and how much pressure it would take to open it. The knowledge sat in my head like a professional tool.