Chapter 9 · My Brother Behind the Door

"Get back — now!" Dax slammed his palm into my chest and threw me behind him. His boots ground into the silver dust.

"That was Leo!" I shoved at his shoulder, tried to get around him. "He called my name, Dax. That's his voice."

"It wasn't him." He didn't look at me. Blade half-drawn, coat snapping. "Vault doesn't do gifts. It does bait. You hear someone you love? Means it's already digging in your skull."

"And you know that how?" I ducked out from behind him, my back hitting the cold arch. Stone bit through my jacket. "You keep saying nineteen nights like I'm supposed to just get it. What the hell does that mean?"

He finally turned. That look wasn't judge-cold. It was jagged. Raw. He ate the distance between us in two steps.

"It means we're out of time." He was inches away now. I could smell ozone and old leather on him, feel the heat coming off his chest. "It means the clock hits zero and it doesn't reset."

"Back off." I pushed at him.

He caught my wrist and pinned it to the stone. Not hard. Just absolute.