Chapter 14 · You’re going to tell me everything

She drove the blade into the metal beside his head.

Kael didn’t flinch.

The knife vibrated between them.

"You’re going to tell me everything," she said. "Or I’ll break the bond myself."

His face went blank.

Mira stopped typing. "You can’t do that."

"I can try."

"Sera, the backlash could kill both of you."

"Then he should start talking."

Kael’s hand slid from her waist to her wrist. His fingers closed around it, not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough to stop her from reaching for the knife.

The change in position brought them even closer. His shoulder pressed against hers. Water dripped from his chin. She could feel the heat of him through two layers of wet fabric.

"You want the truth?" he asked.

"No. I want another lie. Make it convincing."

"Your memories were cut out before the execution."

Sera stopped breathing.

Mira looked over her shoulder. "Kael."

"She already knows something’s wrong," he said. "Pretending otherwise won’t help."

Sera’s blade hand trembled once. She hated that he saw it.

"Who cut them out?"

Kael’s thumb pressed against the inside of her wrist. Her pulse jumped beneath it.

"I don’t know."

She twisted, trying to free herself.