Chapter 12 · Sera Makes an Offer

"Don't move another inch, Mara. I'll have the guards put a bolt through your brother's neck before you can even blink."

Sera’s voice didn't scream. It didn't have to. She stood five feet away in the sterile, white-tiled interrogation room of the Ward Authority, her heels clicking like a countdown. Behind her, two armored sentinels held a shimmering projection—a live feed of Noah. He was strapped to a chair, a jagged death ward circling his throat like a glowing noose. One twitch from Sera’s finger, and the ward would collapse inward.

I didn't move. I couldn't. My wrist was still burning from the blood contract, the gold chain linking me to Lucan Vale. Lucan was shoved against the far wall, his hands bound in dampening cuffs that sucked the magic right out of his skin. He looked wrecked—pale, sweating, his eyes dark with a curse that was eating him from the inside out.

"What do you want, Sera?" I spat. My voice sounded like I'd been swallowing glass.

Sera smiled. It was a thin, bloodless thing. "I want the asset. Hand over Lucan, break that little leash of yours, and I’ll let the boy walk.