Chapter 22 · The Memory Blade

"Don't look at the blade." Cade's hand snapped around Lena's wrist before her fingers could close around it.

The execution hall vanished beneath them.

Stone split. The screaming crowd dropped away. Lena hit Cade hard enough to knock the breath from both of them, and his grip still didn't loosen.

"Let go."

"No."

"Cade."

"Tell me what you see first."

She shoved against his chest. His coat had torn at the shoulder. Blood soaked through the fabric, hot against her palm. Red lines crawled over his skin—the blood pact draining him one thin pulse at a time.

"A knife," she snapped. "Black handle. Silver edge. It's stuck between us. Happy?"

"What else?"

"A round room. Six chains. A door with no hinges. And you, ordering me around like usual."

His eyes stayed on hers.

"That's not what I see."

"Then stop staring at me and check your own head."

Cade pulled her closer by the wrist. His breath brushed her cheek. Warm. Uneven. His face had gone pale, but his eyes still had enough edge to cut.

"I see the execution block," he said. "You tied to it. Me behind you with that blade."

The weapon trembled in the stone.