Chapter 34 · The Other Key

"I think you're walking into a trap because you want an answer more than you want to survive."

"And you're going to stop me?"

"Yes."

"Try."

Dorian stepped in front of me before I reached the archive door.

His shoulder nearly brushed mine. He didn't touch me.

He didn't need to.

The corridor was too narrow, the air hot against my skin, his body blocking the only way forward. His eyes dropped to my mouth.

Half a second.

That was all it took.

The bond snapped tight between us.

Pain punched through my chest. Heat followed, dizzy and vicious. My fingers went slack around the copied page.

Dorian caught my waist before my knees gave out.

I shoved at his chest. "Let go."

"You're about to hit the floor."

"I'd rather hit the floor than let you pretend you care."

His hand tightened against my side. "I never pretended."

"Really? You rejected me in front of the entire council."

"I rejected the bond."

"Same humiliation."

His jaw flexed. "It kept them from using you against me.