Chapter 11 · The Cost of a Lie

"Say it again," Rowan said, pressing the edge of his blade beneath my jaw.

"Tell me you didn't touch the seal." I kept my hands flat against the metal table. The chain between our wrists hummed hard enough to rattle my teeth.

"I didn't touch it." His eyes dropped to the red lines crawling up my arm.

"Try the truth this time."

"That was the truth."

"No. That was the answer you wanted me to hear." He leaned closer. His coat brushed my knees, and heat rolled off him despite the freezing chamber.

"Your heart just skipped."

"Maybe it hates you."

"Your heart doesn't have opinions."

"Mine does." I smiled because the blade was cold, and my pulse was not.

"It has excellent taste." His grip tightened. The seal burned between our wrists. My heartbeat stumbled. One beat. Two. Then a sharp pull clamped around my chest. I sucked in air. Rowan's face changed at once. The threat vanished. The warden took over.

"What did you take?"

"Nothing." The pain punched deeper. I bent over the table, dragging my chained hand against the metal.

"Tessa."

"I said nothing!"

"You said a lie."

"You don't get to decide that.