Chapter 15 · The Price That Breathes

"Get your hand off the stone." Calian caught my wrist before my fingers touched the raw black surface.

His grip was tight enough to hurt. His other hand braced against the wall beside my head, boxing me in between his body and the oathstone. Heat pressed through his shirt. So did the sharp, clean scent of blood.

"Move." I twisted against him. "The command is eating through your bond."

"I know what it’s doing."

"Then stop standing there like a very handsome piece of furniture."

His jaw tightened. "You think that’s funny?"

"No. I think you’re about three seconds from walking me into the Blacktide Core with a knife at my throat. That makes me nervous."

The black line around his wrist pulsed. It ran beneath his skin like ink dragged through a vein, then jumped across the space between us and burned along my own wrist.

Calian swore and released me.

I stumbled back, but the oathstone caught my palm before I could hit the floor.