Chapter 33 · One Life For One

"Get your hands off me!"

Kaela screamed, but it came out as a choked gasp. She wasn't fighting me—she was fighting the air. The Ledger hovered between us, pages snapping like a whip in a windless room. Gold light bled from the spine, thick and heavy, pinning us both against the mahogany table.

I shoved at the book. My palms hit a wall of sheer force.

"What is this?" Kaela gasped. Her back arched, pupils blown wide with a terror that made my blood run cold. "Silas, what the hell did you do?"

"I bought the contract!" I yelled, straining until my shoulder joints popped. "I just wanted your sister back!"

"You stole the money!" she spat, voice trembling. "You cheated the trade, and now it's coming for us!"

I didn't have time to argue. The Ledger flipped a page. Crimson ink carved itself into the parchment, needles pressing into my brain. *Life for Life.*

"It's an imbalance," I muttered. The realization hit like a physical blow. "I used stolen assets. The book doesn't care who the money belonged to. It only cares that the scales are tipped."

"So what does that mean?" Kaela whispered.