Chapter 23 · The Seventh Lock

"Put the knife down, Tessa." Cael caught her wrist before the cutter reached his chest.

The blade stopped a finger's width from his coat. His grip burned around her wrist. Beneath her ribs, the heartlock slammed against his pulse.

"Let go."

"You tried this once already." His face hovered close enough for his breath to brush her cheek. "You backed off when my heart started failing. Try again, and I won't stop you."

"Don't you dare make that sound like permission."

"Then stop pointing steel at me."

She twisted hard.

Cael moved with her, caught her other shoulder, and drove her against the cracked service wall. Dust shook loose from the pipes overhead. Beyond the sealed door, wardens pounded through the lower tunnels.

Three strikes.

The lock shuddered.

Tessa pressed the cutter harder into his coat. "Your father used my mother. Your family built the core that killed her. You knew more than you told me. Why shouldn't I cut the lock right now?"

Cael's jaw tightened. "Because the cutter won't just free us."

"You said that last time."

"I said it would hurt. I didn't say how much."

"Funny. You keep leaving out the useful parts.