Chapter 27 · The Dual Key

"You're shaking."

Dorian's thumbs pressed beneath my jaw and forced my face up. His mouth hovered inches from mine. Every breath warmed my lips.

The bond pulled heat down my throat and into my arms, begging me to lean closer. To let him mark what he'd already claimed in every way except the one that mattered.

I hated that my body still knew him.

I hated that he knew it, too.

"I'm furious," I said.

"You can be both."

"Don't make this sound like us."

His thumbs tightened against my skin. His eyes dropped to my mouth, then snapped back to mine.

"It's always been us," he said. "That's the problem."

Behind him, the console flashed.

MARA V—

The last letters began to burn away.

I slapped his hands aside. "Give me the command seal."

"No."

"You said the core needs a signature."

"My full seal would expose the city grid."

"I didn't ask for the full seal."

His jaw locked. "You know what happens if I split it?"

"No. Explain it while you stop me from being erased.