Chapter 29 · The Marriage Circuit

"Take your hand off the shard, Mara." Adrian caught my wrist before the black glass could bite any deeper. "Now."

"You first."

The witness shard pulsed between my fingers. Heat shot up my arm and locked my elbow straight. Adrian's grip tightened, his thumb pressing into the contract mark around my wrist.

The mark answered with a sharp blue flash.

He flinched.

I saw it. That tiny crack in his control. The pain he tried to hide.

"Still gonna pretend this is only hurting me?" I asked.

"I'm trying to get you to stop feeding it your memory."

"You said the shard would open if I gave it access."

"I said it might open. I didn't say it would drain you dry."

The black glass twitched in my palm. A thin line split across its surface.

Behind the crack, my mother's voice stuttered through static.

"Mara. Don't let him sign."

My breath caught.

Adrian's eyes snapped to my face. "You heard that."

"I heard her."

"Then let go."

"She said not to let you sign."

"That recording was made before the contract."

"You don't know that."

"I know exactly when it was made."

His hand stayed wrapped around my wrist.