Chapter 8 · Back to the Wolf Den

Evelyn shoved the letter into her jacket pocket and turned to Nolan. "We need to leave. Now."

Nolan didn't move. He was still staring at the blood on the floor, at the name written in the center of the array. Her name. The dead guard's throat gaped open like a second mouth, and the smell of copper was thick enough to taste.

"Nolan." She grabbed his arm. "Your uncle's people could be—"

"My father wrote your name." His voice came out flat. "In his own blood. Before he died."

"I know."

"You knew him."

"I didn't—"

"Don't lie to me." He pulled his arm free and faced her. His eyes were dark, and the black fire under his skin pulsed faster. "The curse has your name in it. The pact burns your mark into my chest. And now this. So tell me what the hell my father wanted from you."

Evelyn's jaw tightened. She could feel Mara watching from the doorway, could hear footsteps echoing somewhere in the hall outside. They didn't have time for this.

"I'll tell you," she said. "After we get out of here alive."

Nolan's laugh was bitter. "That's not—