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The vision breaks and I'm back on the marble floor, gasping like I've been drowning. Julian's hand is still under mine. His curse mark is hot enough to burn through my palm but I don't let go.
He's staring at me. Blood's dripping from the corner of his mouth where the chain cut him and his shirt's half-soaked but he's not looking at the wound. He's looking at me like I just pulled a gun.
"You were there." My voice comes out flat. "Ember Street. You were there when it burned."
He doesn't answer. Doesn't blink. The black lines under his skin are still crawling up his neck and I can feel them pulse every time his heart beats. Slow. Too slow.
"Nia." His voice is rough. "Let go."
"No." I press harder. The lock pattern under my fingers is shifting, trying to close itself, and I don't know what happens if it does but I know it won't be good. "You said Run. You handed me a key. I was six years old and you told me to run."
His jaw tightens. For a second I think he's going to shove me off but instead he just closes his eyes. "You shouldn't remember that."
"Well I do." My other hand is shaking so I curl it into a fist. "My mom died in that fire. My whole street died. And you were standing in the middle of it holding a brass key like you owned the place."
"I didn't—" He stops. Opens his eyes. They're still that cold grey but there's something else now, something that looks almost like guilt. "I didn't start it."
"Then who did?"
He doesn't answer.
I want to hit him. I want to rip the truth out of his throat with my bare hands but the curse mark flares again and he makes a sound like he's choking. The black lines spread another inch.
"Nia." Sera's voice cuts through from somewhere behind me. I didn't even hear her come back in. "Move. Now."
I don't move.
Sera grabs my shoulder and tries to pull me off but I lock my knees and stay put. "He knows something. He was there. He—"
"He's dying." Sera's grip tightens. "And if he dies before the wedding's finalized the contract breaks. Which means the Court keeps Evan and you get nothing."
That stops me.
Julian's breathing is shallow now, uneven, and when I look down the black lines have reached his collarbone. They're branching out like cracks in glass.
"What do I do?" I hate how small my voice sounds.
Sera crouches next to me. She's got a leather pouch in one hand and she's already pulling out a syringe filled with something that glows faint blue. "You get out of the way and let me stabilize him. Then you two are going to have a very polite conversation about why he didn't mention he's been sitting on a death curse for the last fifteen years."
She jams the needle into his neck without warning. Julian jerks once, hard, and then goes limp. The black lines stop moving. They don't disappear but they stop.
I finally let go.
My hand's shaking so bad I have to press it against my thigh to make it stop. There's a burn mark across my palm where his curse touched me, red and blistered, and it hurts like hell but I don't care.
"He knew my mom." I'm talking to myself more than Sera. "He was there. He gave me a key. Why would he do that if he didn't—"
"I don't know." Sera stands up and wipes the blood off her hands with a black cloth. "But you're going to ask him when he wakes up. And this time you're going to do it somewhere that's not actively trying to kill you both."
She pulls out her phone and starts typing fast. I catch a glimpse of the screen. It's a message to someone called M. Bride unstable. Moving the ceremony up. Confirm location.
"Wait." I scramble to my feet. "Moving it up? The wedding's not for another two days."
"It was." Sera doesn't look up. "That woman with the chain? She's Court enforcement. Specifically she hunts people who break blood contracts. And she thinks Julian killed someone under a binding, which means she's not going to stop until he's dead or married."
"Married to me."
"Married to anyone." Sera pockets the phone. "But you're the only option on the table and the clock just started running. We've got maybe twelve hours before she comes back with a full team."
My stomach drops. "Twelve hours."
"Give or take." Sera steps over Julian like he's a piece of furniture and heads for the door. "There's a car waiting downstairs. You're going to get in it. Julian's going to wake up in about ten minutes and then he's going to get in it too. And then we're driving to the one place in Nightport where the Court can't touch you."
"Where?"
Sera stops in the doorway. Looks back at me. "The vault."
The word hits me like cold water.
The vault. The one my family's been hunting for twenty years. The one that's supposed to hold every dirty secret the Court and the Cross family ever kept. The one my mom died trying to find.
"You're lying." My voice is flat. "No one knows where it is."
"Julian does." Sera's smile is sharp. "Why do you think they want him dead so badly?"
She leaves.
I stand there for a long time, staring at Julian's unconscious body. The black lines are still visible under his skin but they're not moving anymore. Just sitting there like a countdown.
Twelve hours.
I crouch down next to him and check his pulse. It's there. Faint but steady. His face looks younger like this, less sharp, and for a second I can almost see the kid from the fire. Skinny. Scared. Holding a brass key like it was the only thing keeping him alive.
"Why did you tell me to run?" I whisper.
He doesn't answer. Obviously.
I reach into my jacket pocket and pull out the old key my mom left me. The one I've carried for fifteen years without knowing what it opens. It's brass, same as the one in the vision, and the teeth are worn down from age but the pattern's still clear.
I press it against Julian's curse mark.
Nothing happens for a second. Then the lock pattern flares, bright enough to hurt, and the key gets hot in my hand. I pull it back fast but it's too late. The metal's already changing, unfolding, and when I look down there's something new etched into the surface.
Numbers.
A date.
And three words in my mom's handwriting.
Don't trust Julian.
My hands go numb.
I flip the key over. There's more on the back, burned into the brass like someone used a branding iron.
He'll take you to the vault.
I look at Julian. At the curse mark on his chest. At the blood on his mouth.
Then I stand up, pocket the key, and head for the door.
Sera said twelve hours.
I'm going to need every single one.