Chapter 5 · How do you know that?

Mara's fingers went numb.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"Because I stole the record."

"From where?"

"The archive."

"When?"

"The night before your hearing."

The tunnel seemed to narrow around them.

"You were there," Mara said.

"Near enough."

"You watched them condemn me."

"I watched your mentor refuse to speak."

Mara shoved him away. The chain pulled them back together so fast their wrists struck.

A white rune burst from the tunnel wall.

Calder moved first.

He stepped in front of her as the rune discharged.

The blast hit his back and threw him into Mara. They slammed against the stone. His breath broke against her neck. For one terrible second, his full weight pinned her there.

Then he dropped to one knee.

"Calder."

"Don't sound worried. It gives me ideas."

Smoke curled from his coat. His hand shook as he tried to push himself up.

Mara caught his face and turned it toward her. His pupils were too wide. A thin line of blood marked his lower lip.

"You took that for me."

"You were standing behind me."

"You could've moved."

"So could you."

"Why didn't you?"

He stared at her hand against his jaw. The warmth of his skin pressed into her palm.

"Because if you break, the chain breaks me," he said. "Don't make it romantic."

Mara released him. "I wasn't."

"You were thinking about it."

"I was thinking about whether your spine was intact."

"That is a very intimate concern."

"Get up."

"Say thank you."

"Get up, Calder."

"Try again."

She hooked her fingers into his collar and hauled him upright. His face ended inches from hers.

"Thank you," she said through her teeth. "Now move before I decide the guard can have you."

His mouth curved. "Better."

The second rune began to charge.

Mara saw the light gather in the wall and shoved Calder sideways. He grabbed her instead, turning them both so his back faced the rune.

"What are you doing?" she snapped.

"Saving you twice."

"I don't owe you twice."

"You owe me once already."

The rune fired.

Calder took the blast across his shoulder. The impact drove him into Mara, and his arm locked around her waist to keep them from falling. Magic ripped through the tunnel. His body went rigid against hers.

Mara felt the chain flare.

She jammed her hand against the glowing mark on his shoulder.

"Don't touch it," he gasped.

"Shut up."

"Mara—"

"I said shut up."

She pushed her magic beneath the burned rune. The spell fought her, biting through her fingertips. She twisted, found the knot, and tore it apart.

The rune shattered.

Calder sagged into her.

For three breaths, neither of them moved.

His arm was still around her waist. Her hand was still pressed to his shoulder. Their faces were close enough for her to feel each breath he took.

"You owe me a life," he said quietly.

Mara's fingers curled against his coat. "I know."

"I could collect."

"Try."

His eyes sharpened. "You really don't know when to stop fighting."

"You really don't know when to let go."

He released her at once.

The loss of his heat annoyed her more than it should have.

Mara turned away and pulled a brass restraint from her belt. It was small, ugly, and stamped with the old auditor's mark.

Calder saw it and stepped back.

"No," he said.

"You owe me a life."

"That doesn't give you the right to put a leash on me."

"This isn't a leash. It's a limiter."

"Same metal. Better marketing."

"It will keep you within the chain's range."

"And what does it do when I try to leave?"

"It stops you."

"How?"

"Painfully."

Calder's smile vanished. "You planned this before the rune hit."

"I planned to survive. There is a difference."

"You want to control me."

"I want you alive until I find a way to remove this bond. After that, you can go back to selling secrets and charming idiots."

"And if I refuse?"

Mara raised the restraint. "The guard is behind us. The exit is warded. You're injured, and I know how to make magic hurt. Pick one."

Calder looked at the brass cuff, then at her face.

"You'd really use it?"

"Put your wrist out."

"That's not an answer."

"You already know the answer."

He stepped closer.

Mara expected another joke. Instead, Calder caught her wrist and turned it, studying the black chain where it crossed her skin.

His thumb traced the edge without quite touching it.

"If this kills one of us," he said, "it kills both."

"Then don't give it a reason."

"You trust me that much?"

"No. I trust the chain to punish stupidity."

His gaze lifted. "You always hide behind rules?"

"You always hide behind jokes?"

For a moment, the tunnel held only their breathing and the distant boots of the guards.

Calder placed his wrist in the cuff.

Mara closed it.

The brass teeth locked with a hard click.

Nothing happened.

Calder exhaled. "See? That wasn't so—"

The limiter ignited.

Black lines raced from the cuff, up his arm, and across the chain between them. The bond snapped tight and yanked Mara forward. Her chest hit his, and his hand caught her waist before she could fall.

A third ring appeared around both their wrists.

Then a fourth.

The stolen seal thudded beneath Calder's coat like a second heart.

Mara tried to pull back.

The chain shortened.

Calder's fingers dug into her side. "Don't move."

"Get your hand off me."

"I can't."

The brass cuff burned brighter. A line of red script formed across its surface.

Mara read the first words and felt every bit of heat leave her face.

Calder looked down at the same time.

"What did you put on me?" he asked.

"I didn't write that."

The script finished itself.

THREE DAYS REMAIN.

The chain cinched between them, locking their wrists together so tightly that even an inch of space vanished.

Calder's mouth parted. For once, no clever answer came out.

Mara stared at the burning words.

Then the cuff gave one final click, and Calder whispered, "Mara, whatever you do, don't—"