Chapter 4

"I don't know!" I snapped. "I've never seen this book in my life!"

"Liar."

His breath was hot against my neck. He crowded me further into the damp brick wall, his shoulder locking me in place. "You’re not some glitchy bounty hunter. You’re an anchor. A secondary key. Why is your name written in royal ink right under Milo’s?"

I clenched my teeth, glaring at the side of his face. "Maybe I'm a talented fraud. Now get off me before I blast a hole through your ribs."

Kane didn't flinch. He shifted his weight, pressing closer. He smelled like rain and metallic blood. His eyes scanned my face with a predatory kind of curiosity.

"Your magic is tearing you apart, Nora. You can feel it." He leaned in, his voice dropping. "The ledger isn't a list of debts. It's a map. And right now, you're the most valuable landmark in this city."

"I'm nobody's landmark," I spat.

I shoved him with everything I had. The bond snapped back, pulling us together in a jarring collision. My forehead hit his chin with a dull thud.

"Ow," Kane muttered. He sounded amused. He grabbed my waist, hauling me flush against him to keep me from slipping on the wet cobblestones. "You're shaking. Is it the magic, or are you just thrilled to be my favorite little secret?"

"Shut up," I breathed.

My heart hammered against my ribs. The air between us felt like a wire stretched to the breaking point. I could feel the heat radiating off him, a steady burn against my cold shivers.

Nearby, Milo was losing it. He was huddled in a heap, staring at the book with wide, terrified eyes. "I'm a key? To what? I just deliver packages! I don't want to be a key!"

"Shut it, Milo!" I barked.

I looked back at the ledger. The gold letters were bleeding into a bruised purple. "Kane, if the guards want the book, why are they still scouring the lower wards? Why haven't they just bombed this alley?"

Kane’s expression darkened. He let go of my waist, but his hand lingered inches from my hip. The proximity made my skin prickle.

"Because they don't just want the keys. They want them intact." He looked at me, cold and sharp. "You don't break a lock if you actually want to open the door."

"And what's behind the door?"

"Power," Kane said. "The kind that makes the King look like a street performer. The kind that could erase your brother's debt in a heartbeat. Or burn this city to the ground."

Hope twisted in my gut, sharp and painful. "If you know so much, why are you running? Why not just take it?"

Kane stepped closer, his shadow swallowing me. He reached out, his thumb brushing the edge of my jawline. The touch was light. A tease.

"Because I'm not the one they're expecting to open it. I'm the ghost they forgot to kill. And you..."

His gaze dropped to my lips for a fraction of a second. "You're the wild card. The glitch in their system."

I swatted his hand away, but I didn't move back. "I'm not a card. I'm the one holding the leash. I'm delivering you to the border, and then I'm getting my brother back."

Kane laughed. It was a dry, jagged sound. "You're barely holding onto your own soul, Nora. Without me keeping your magic from exploding, you'd be a crater in the slums by midnight."

I opened my mouth to tell him to go to hell, but a violent vibration rattled the air. It wasn't a sound—it was a frequency. A low hum that made my teeth ache.

Then the bells screamed.

Not one. Not two. Every bounty bell in the district went off at once. A synchronized alarm. A High-Value Target had been tagged.

"What the hell?" Milo shrieked, covering his ears. "I didn't do anything!"

The blood-bond pulsed. Raw, unstable energy flared in my palms, sparking white-hot. I gasped, stumbling back, my boots skidding on the slime.

"They found us," Kane said. He sounded bored. Which was worse.

He slid the ledger into his coat.

Suddenly, the bells stopped. The silence was heavier than the noise.

Then, a voice echoed through the alley. It didn't come from a person. It came from the walls, the drains, the air itself. Smooth. Cultured. Cold.

Silas Vorn.

"Attention, hunters of the lower wards," the voice purred. "The target has changed. The royal fugitive is no longer the priority."

I froze. Kane’s hand gripped my shoulder, hard.

"The ledger has spoken," Silas continued. I could hear the smirk in his tone. "The first key is Milo Quinn. But the second key... the more volatile, more precious anchor... is Nora Vale."

My stomach dropped. He said my name like it was a prize.

"Nora Vale is the second key," Silas proclaimed, his voice booming through the slums. "Ten thousand crowns for her head. Dead or alive—though I prefer her alive. For now."

"Run," Kane hissed.

I turned to bolt, but the end of the alley exploded in silver light. Three Royal Enforcers stepped through the smoke, spears leveled at my chest.

"Miss Vale," the lead Enforcer said through a steel visor. "You're coming with us. Or we can just take the arm and see if the anchor still works."

Kane stepped in front of me, his fingers locking into mine. The bond roared to life, a wave of heat crashing through us both.

"She's not going anywhere," Kane said, his voice dropping an octave. "Unless you want to see what happens when a key and an anchor blow this block to hell."