Chapter 43 · If I destroy it, what happens to you?

"If I destroy it, what happens to you?"

Lucan held the signet between two fingers. Behind him, the dead queen's body twitched against the stone floor.

Nora's execution mark flared. Five red lines burned across her wrist, each pulse dragging five breaths from her lungs. The iron doors behind her sealed with veins of light.

She stared at the ring. "You said you didn't know."

"I said I didn't know for certain." His jaw tightened. "I know enough now."

"Then tell me. No riddles."

He glanced at the broken crown above the throne. "If you destroy the signet, my claim may die with it. The city could lose the only bloodline that can seal the core."

"And your mother gets free."

"She gets one last chance to tear herself into a living body."

"Mine."

"Yes."

Nora laughed once. The sound scraped her throat. "And you still want me to break it?"

Lucan stepped closer. The signet brushed her knuckles. "I want you to choose."

"Don't dress this up as a choice. The door's locked, my execution mark is counting down, and your mother wants my body."

"Then leave."

Nora pointed at the sealed doors. "I'd love to."

"I'll open them."