Chapter 21 · The Shadow's Price

"Get your hands off me!"

Mara’s scream came out as a strangled gasp.

Cael didn't budge. He had her pinned against the cold stone wall, his chest heaving. Heat radiated off him like a furnace. The black shadows—Seline’s shadows—weren't just binding them anymore. They were pulsing. Rhythmic. Hungry. They wound around their wrists and ankles like living veins.

"Look at me, Mara! Look at me!" Cael’s voice was raw, cracking from the fever. He slammed his forehead against hers. His breath was hot, smelling of metallic iron. "I know you're in there. Don't let her take the wheel."

Mara clawed at his forearms. Her eyes flickered—gold fighting hazel.

"Who are you?" she spat. "Why are you touching me?"

"I'm the idiot who's been dying for you for ten loops!" Cael snapped. He pressed closer, trying to drown out the shadows with his own body heat. "You know me. You know we're in the archives. You know Seline is pulling the strings!"

Mara froze. *Seline.*

A flash of memory hit her: a silver bell. A cold smile. The smell of incense and blood. She sagged against him, her voice trembling. "The shadow... Cael, the shadow isn't yours.