Chapter 26 · The Last Bargain

"Pick one, Mara. Your brother or your conscience. I’m not a patient woman."

Sera Quinn didn’t shout. She didn’t have to. She just stood there in the center of the sterile holding room, her heels clicking against the white tile like a countdown. Between them, Noah was slumped in a heavy iron chair, his wrists bound by dampening cuffs that bled the magic right out of his skin. He looked small. Too small.

Mara didn’t move her gaze from the boy. Her own wrist throbbed, the blood contract with Lucan Vale humming like a live wire under her skin. Lucan was behind her, his presence a heavy, suffocating weight. He wasn't tied up, but the way Sera looked at him—like he was a specimen in a jar—was a different kind of cage.

"He’s a child, Sera," Mara spat, her voice rasping. "You don't bargain with children."

"I’m not bargaining with him," Sera replied, a thin, sharp smile cutting across her face. "I’m bargaining with you. Give me the core’s frequency, give me the key to Lucan’s seal, and Noah walks out of here with a clean slate. No debts. No ward-breaking marks. Just a fresh start.