Chapter 8 · The Silver Bolt

"Get your hands off me, Ronan!"

I slammed my palm into his chest.

The covenant flared beneath my skin. Heat shot through my arm, yanking me backward and straight into him.

Ronan's arm locked around my waist before my spine hit the iron rail. His coat scraped my bare wrist. His mouth brushed my ear.

"If I let go, the gate kills you."

"Then let it try."

Below us, the rogue tide gate bucked inside the harbor chamber. Black water punched through its cracked teeth and blasted the council platform. The floor jolted under my boots.

Ronan dragged me away from the edge.

"You don't get to die just to make a point."

"You rejected me on live television to make one."

His grip tightened. "This isn't the place."

"No. This is exactly the place."

I twisted in his hold until we were chest to chest. His breath warmed my cheek. Silver light flashed across his face with every violent pulse from the gate.

"The council wants proof I'm the disaster. Your guards have silver pointed at my back. So go on, High Warden. Tell them why your rejected mate is the only person who can touch that gate.