Chapter 6 · The Debt Has Teeth

"Don't touch the seal."

Rowan's hand closed around Tessa's wrist before her fingers reached the black mark burning across her palm.

His grip was hard enough to stop her. Not hard enough to hurt. That almost made it worse.

"Get off me," she snapped.

"You used my power twice in under a minute."

"And we're both still alive. You're welcome."

"That's not how this works."

Behind them, something slammed into the iron vault door. The hinges screamed. Dust shook loose from the ceiling and pattered over Tessa's shoulders.

Rowan pulled her backward until her spine hit his chest. His coat scraped against her back. Heat pressed through the fabric, steady and controlled, while the seal under her skin pulsed like it had its own impatient heartbeat.

"Hold still," he said.

"You're going to have to try harder than that."

She drove her heel down on his boot.

His grip tightened. "Do you want the seal to stop your heart?"

"Do you want me to stop breaking your toes?"

Another impact hit the door.

The metal bowed inward.

Rowan leaned close, his mouth near her ear.