Chapter 8 · The Black Seal

The black ring snapped shut around Nora’s wrist before Lucan finished his warning.

Pain lanced up her arm. She drove her free hand into his chest.

“Don’t touch the last line,” he said.

“Then tell me what it says.”

“I’m trying to keep you alive.”

“No. You’re trying to keep me ignorant.”

The archive floor split beneath them. Shelves groaned, and black-sealed files spilled from their slots. One struck the stone hard enough to burst its wax seal.

Bram stumbled back near the vault entrance, dust streaking his council coat. His smile never moved.

“Look at her!” he shouted to the witnesses. “She’s activating the curse with her own blood.”

Nora twisted against the ring. Red light crawled beneath her skin, racing from her wrist toward her elbow.

“You stole my evidence!” she yelled. “You altered the execution order!”

“And you’re proving my case.” Bram pointed at her burning arm. “That isn’t a truth-reader’s gift. It’s a curse.”

Lucan stepped in front of her, blocking Bram from view. His hand closed around the ring, hot and hard against her skin.

“Move,” Nora snapped.

“Not until the seal stops feeding.”

“You knew this could happen.”

“I knew the contract was trapped.”