Chapter 32 · The Debt Was Fake

"Put the knife down, Ayla." Kade caught her wrist before the blade reached his throat. "You get one chance to ask me what happened. Don't waste it trying to open me up."

"You lied to me."

His fingers tightened. Not enough to hurt. Enough to remind her that he could.

The ledger sat open on the table between them, its black pages twitching under the glow of the stolen lamp. Every soul-mark Ayla had touched in the last six years had left a trace in her mind. This one left a burn.

Kade's name was written in the debt registry.

The amount was impossible.

The signature was hers.

Ayla twisted hard. Kade stepped in, using her own momentum to pin her against the wall. His chest stopped inches from hers. His breath brushed her cheek, warm and steady, while hers came sharp enough to hurt.

"Say it again," he said.

"You lied to me."

"About what?"

"Don't play stupid." She lifted the ledger with her free hand and shoved it against his shoulder. "This debt was filed under your name twelve years ago. You were marked before the district burned.