Chapter 28 · The Hollow Cure - Chapter 28: Price of the Taboo

"You want ten years off my life and you can't even look me in the eye when you ask?"

Lyra slammed her palm against the locked door and the whole frame shuddered. Kael didn't move. His hand was still locked around her wrist.

"I am looking at you," he said. "That's the problem."

"Then say it straight. No more surgeon bullshit. How much?"

"Five to ten. Depending on how much it takes." His fingers tightened. Not hard enough to hurt. Hard enough she couldn't pull away. "The door doesn't want blood. It wants time. Life. Your life."

"And you just decided that for me?"

"I decided to tell you before I cut," he snapped. "That's more than most would do."

The hallway behind them was closing in. Literally. The crystal veins in the walls were pulsing faster now, thickening, crawling across the stone like roots. The air tasted like copper and old ice.

Lyra yanked her arm. He didn't let go.

"Let go of me," she said.

"No."

"Kael —"

"Listen to me. You are the key. Your blood is the key. But the lock isn't a lock. It's a trade. The city was built on this.