Long-press a paragraph to send danmaku
"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. "The next time you borrow my power without permission, it won't just take a little blood. It will take something permanent."
Tessa twisted against him. "Then tell me what the seal wants."
"It wants a way out."
"So do I."
"No. You want the thing behind that door dead. That's different."
His breath touched the side of her neck. Tessa hated that she noticed. Hated the way her pulse jumped beneath his fingers and gave him the exact answer she refused to say out loud.
She shoved his arm away and turned to face him.
Rowan stood between her and the vault door, one hand near the blade at his belt. His dark hair had come loose at the temple. A thin line of blood ran from his jaw to his collar, bright against his skin.
Tessa pointed at it. "You're bleeding."
"I've noticed."
"That thing clawed you."
"It grazed me."
"You call that a graze?"
"I call it not your problem."
"Everything attached to you is my problem now."
The words came out too fast.
Rowan's eyes dropped to the seal between them. Then back to her face.
"Say that again," he said.
Tessa's mouth went dry. "I said the chain makes your problems mine."
"That's not what you said."
"You heard wrong. Must be the blood loss."
The vault door buckled again. A hooked limb punched through the metal, black and wet, and dragged a jagged line down the center.
Rowan moved first.
He caught Tessa by the waist and shoved her behind a stone support as the door burst inward. The impact threw a sheet of iron across the room. It crashed into the far wall hard enough to split the old runes carved there.
The creature came through on six legs.
It had a wolf's shoulders, a spider's reach, and a mouth that opened sideways beneath a crown of bone. Blue fire leaked from its eye sockets. Every step left a smear of dark fluid on the stone.
Tessa raised both hands.
The seal flared.
Power rushed through her arm. Cold first. Then heat. Then a sharp twist under her ribs, like invisible fingers turning a key.
Rowan caught her elbow. "Don't."
"You have a better idea?"
"Yes. Stay behind me."
"That is not an idea. That's a death wish with better posture."
The creature lunged.
Rowan stepped into it.
His blade struck the nearest limb and threw sparks across the chamber. The impact drove him to one knee. The creature snapped its sideways jaws at his head.
Tessa grabbed the seal with her other hand.
"Give me the strength," she whispered.
The mark answered.
Rowan's power tore through her. Not borrowed this time. Taken.
Her bones rang with it.
A ring of pale light burst from her palm and slammed into the monster's chest. It flew backward, smashed through a stack of cracked stone crates, and landed in a heap of splinters.
Rowan stared at her.
"That was my strength," he said.
"You were using it badly."
The seal pulsed again.
A red line appeared beneath Tessa's skin, crawling from her palm toward her wrist.
She sucked in a breath.
Rowan crossed the space in two strides and seized her hand. His thumb pressed against the mark.
"Let go," she said.
"Stop fighting me."
"You first."
"Tessa."
Her name landed low and sharp. A warning. A command.
The red line stopped.
Tessa looked down. Rowan's thumb was still on her skin. His hand was warm. The mark hissed under it, angry but quiet.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"I closed the channel."
"You can do that?"
"I can do a lot of things you haven't survived long enough to learn."
The monster pulled itself out of the broken crates.
Tessa yanked her hand free. "Then learn faster."
She threw a shard of stone at its face.
The creature dodged. Rowan stepped in front of her and drove his blade into the joint beneath its front leg. Black fluid sprayed across his sleeve. The monster shrieked, a sound that made Tessa's teeth ache.
"Now!" Rowan barked.
"You said not to use your power."
"I changed my mind."
"You do that a lot."
"Are you going to argue or kill it?"
"Both."
Tessa planted her boots and reached for the seal again.
This time, she didn't pull.
She pushed.
She grabbed the power Rowan was already pouring into his blade and shoved it through the creature's wounded joint. The blade flashed white. The monster froze with its jaws spread wide.
Rowan's shoulder slammed into hers as he twisted the weapon.
"Keep it there," he said.
"I'm trying."
"Try harder."
"I hate you."
"Good. Stay angry."
The seal burned hotter.
The red line climbed past her wrist.
Tessa's fingers began to numb.
"Rowan," she said.
He looked at her hand. His expression changed so quickly she almost missed it.
"Cut the connection," he said.
"Can't."
"You can. Pull back."
"If I pull back, it gets up."
"If you don't, you stop breathing."
The creature jerked against the blade.
The stone floor cracked beneath its claws.
Tessa's lungs tightened. Every breath came in short, useless pieces.
"Do it," Rowan said.
"No."
"That's not a request."
"Then order someone else."
His hand locked around the back of her neck. He pulled her face toward his.
His eyes were gray, cold, and much too close.
"Listen to me," he said. "You don't get to die just because you're stubborn."
"You're one to talk."
"Tessa. Pull back. Now."
The creature snapped its jaws at them.
She felt Rowan's body move in front of hers, shielding her even while he held her in place.
That did it.
Tessa tore her power free.
The seal ripped out of Rowan's blade in a flash of blue light. The recoil threw her across the chamber. Her shoulder struck the floor. Pain shot down her arm.
Rowan didn't let the monster recover.
He drove his blade through its skull.
The creature collapsed beside him, legs folding one after another. Its blue fire sputtered out.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Then Rowan staggered.
Tessa pushed herself up. "You're hurt."
"I'm fine."
"You always say that right before you fall over."
"I haven't fallen."
His knees bent.
Tessa caught his coat and hauled him against the wall.
His shoulder hit stone. His hand came up fast, trapping her wrist beside his head.
"Careful," he said.
"You're welcome. Again."
"You pulled too much power."
"You pushed too much power into the blade."
"Because you were going to let the seal eat you."
"Because you were standing there looking heroic instead of explaining what happens when it does."
His face was inches from hers now. Blood warmed the air between them. His chest rose against hers, slow and heavy, while her fingers were still bunched in his coat.
"It takes pieces," he said.
"What pieces?"
"Memories first. Names. Faces. Places you know. Then it takes pain. Fear. Anything that makes you care whether you live."
Tessa stared at him. "You knew."
"I've seen it happen."
"To who?"
His jaw tightened.
"Rowan."
"Don't use my name like you own it."
"Then stop using my power like you own that."
She shoved him back.
He let her go, but only after his fingers dragged across her wrist. The touch lasted half a second too long.
Tessa covered the mark with her other hand. "You could have told me."
"You wouldn't have listened."
"Try me."
"You were busy threatening to stab me."
"I can multitask."
A thin metallic click came from the dead creature.
Both of them turned.
The monster's chest split open. A glassy black core rolled out and stopped against Tessa's boot.
Rowan's blade came up. "Don't touch it."
"You say that a lot too."
"Because you keep touching dangerous things."
"You mean profitable things."
"That core is worth less than the bounty on your head."
Tessa looked at him. "How much is my head worth?"
He didn't answer.
"Rowan."
"Enough to buy a district."
The words hit harder than the creature had.
Tessa nudged the core with her boot. "And you brought me down here anyway."
"I didn't bring you. The seal did."
"You chained me to it."
"I kept it from killing you."
"By chaining me to yourself."
"Would you prefer the Council's version?"
She glanced at the sealed tunnel behind them. The vault had only one entrance. The iron door lay twisted across it, and the creature's body blocked the narrow gap beside the frame.
Rowan wiped his blade on the monster's hide.
"We have maybe ten minutes before the Council trackers reach this level," he said.
"Then we move."
"You can barely stand."
"I can stand well enough to leave you behind."
He caught her chin between two fingers and turned her face toward the wall.
A thin red line had reached her throat.
His touch went still.
"You didn't tell me it spread," he said.
"You didn't ask nicely."
"This isn't a game."
"No. It's a debt. Yours keeps my heart beating. Mine keeps your power trapped in my body."
His fingers slid from her chin to the side of her neck. He pressed just below her jaw, checking her pulse.
Tessa went rigid.
"Take your hand off me."
"Your pulse is skipping."
"Still beating."
"Barely."
"Then make yourself useful."
His eyes lifted to hers. "Say please."
"I'd rather choke."
"That can be arranged."
"You really need better lines."
A corner of his mouth moved. Not a smile. Almost one.
Then the seal flashed.
Both of them looked down.
The black mark on Tessa's palm had changed. A thin line of light pushed out from its center and crawled across her skin. It curved around her thumb, crossed her wrist, and pointed toward the far side of the chamber.
"That's new," Tessa said.
"Don't move."
"I'm not the one who keeps ordering me around."
The light drew another line. Then another.
A map formed across her palm and forearm. Not a map of the vault. A map of the tunnels beneath it. Dead ends. Collapsed shafts. Three locked chambers.
One route glowed brighter than the others.
At its end, a symbol appeared: a black gate with teeth around the edge.
Rowan stepped closer.
"The Monster Vault," he said.
Tessa's throat tightened. "You know it?"
"Everyone in Greyharbor knows it. Nobody comes back from inside."
"That sounds like a challenge."
"It sounds like a grave."
"You're afraid."
"I'm informed."
"Same thing, prettier word."
The map pulsed.
A voice rose from the seal.
Not a whisper. Not a memory.
A real voice, clear enough to fill the chamber.
"Tessa Quill."
Tessa stopped breathing.
Rowan's hand went to the hilt of his blade.
The voice spoke again.
"Don't let him take you to the gate."
Tessa stared at the glowing lines on her skin. Her knees weakened, but she refused to sit.
"Who is that?" Rowan demanded.
The voice didn't answer him.
It said, "Tess-bird."
The name hit her harder than any spell.
Her mother had used it when Tessa was small. Before the debt. Before the disappearance. Before every Council clerk in Greyharbor started pretending her family had never mattered.
Tessa grabbed Rowan's coat. "You heard that."
His face had gone blank.
"Answer me. You heard her."
"The seal can copy voices."
"It used her name."
"It has access to your memories."
"It used the name only she knew."
Rowan's gaze cut to the glowing map. "That proves nothing."
"You knew the Monster Vault was here."
"I knew it existed."
"You knew the seal would lead us to it."
"I suspected."
"You knew my mother might be inside."
His silence answered before he did.
Tessa shoved him hard.
He caught both her wrists and pinned them against the stone wall. His body blocked the tunnel. His face lowered until his breath brushed her mouth.
"Careful," he said.
"Make me."
His eyes sharpened.
For one dangerous second, neither of them moved.
The seal throbbed between their wrists. His heat pressed through her clothes. Her fingers strained against his grip, but he held her easily.
"Let go," she said.
"Stop trying to rip my throat out."
"You lied to me."
"I kept information from you. That's not the same thing."
"It is when my mother is involved."
"You don't know that voice was hers."
"You recognized it."
His thumb shifted against her pulse.
"I recognized a trap."
"You recognized her."
"Tessa—"
"Say it. Say you knew her."
The red line on her throat burned.
Rowan's grip changed. Not looser. More careful.
"If I answer, the seal may punish you for the lie."
"Then don't lie."
"You think truth makes you safe?"
"No. I think your secrets are trying to kill me."
A deep boom rolled through the tunnel.
The Council trackers had reached the vault level.
Blue light flashed under the ruined door. Voices shouted beyond it.
"Warden Vale! Step away from the rift runner!" someone called. "The Council has authorized lethal force!"
Tessa laughed once, without humor. "They want me dead."
"They want the seal."
"Same result for me."
Rowan released one of her wrists and drew a small metal spike from his belt. He crouched beside the twisted door and jammed it into a crack in the floor.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Buying us a minute."
"With what?"
"Your stolen power."
He looked up at her. "Give it back."
"You said it would eat me."
"Not if I guide it."
"And why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't."
The honesty stopped her.
Rowan held out his hand. "Trust the chain. It knows when I'm lying."
"The chain also wants to drag me into a monster vault."
"Then use it before it uses you."
The door shook under another impact.
Tessa looked at his hand. Long fingers. Blood on his knuckles. A shallow cut across his palm.
"If this kills me—"
"It won't."
"That wasn't the end of my sentence."
"I know. Give me your hand."
She placed her palm against his.
The seal snapped awake.
Rowan's fingers closed around hers. His skin was hot. The mark burned between them, and power poured through the contact in a hard, controlled stream.
Tessa gasped.
"Breathe," he said.
"Don't tell me how."
"In. Now."
She inhaled.
"Out."
She obeyed before she could stop herself.
The map brightened.
The metal spike sank into the floor. A crack raced beneath the door. Blue force slammed into the stone and threw the Council trackers backward.
Someone screamed.
Rowan's shoulder pressed against Tessa's as he held the barrier. "You feel the pull?"
"I feel you stealing control."
"I'm keeping the seal from taking your memories."
"How generous."
"Tell me something only you know."
"Why?"
"So you notice if it disappears."
Tessa stared at him. "My mother hid a brass key in a flour tin."
"That's not enough."
"She hated cinnamon."
"That is useless."
"She called me Tess-bird when she was scared."
His fingers tightened around hers.
The voice returned from the seal.
"Tess-bird."
Tessa's breath caught.
The map shifted. The glowing route bent away from the Monster Vault gate and opened a narrow passage marked with a white circle.
Rowan saw it.
His expression went hard. "No."
"It changed the route."
"It's bait."
"It says my mother is alive."
"It says what you need to hear."
"You don't get to decide what I need."
"I do when your heart is tied to mine."
The barrier cracked.
Rowan pulled Tessa against him and turned, shielding her as a blade of blue light cut through the door. It struck his back and dropped him to one knee.
"Rowan!"
"Move!"
"You're hurt."
"Move, damn it!"
Tessa grabbed his arm and hauled him upright. He was heavier than he looked, but the seal surged at her touch, filling her muscles with borrowed strength.
The red line climbed higher on her throat.
Rowan saw it.
"Stop using me."
"Then keep up."
They ran for the glowing passage.
Behind them, the vault door tore open. Council wardens poured through, shouting orders. Metal boots struck stone. Spells cracked against the walls.
Rowan dragged Tessa around a corner and shoved her into a narrow gap between two slabs. He followed, pressing close enough that her back met his chest again.
His hand covered her mouth.
Tessa bit his palm.
He grunted but didn't move it.
"Quiet," he breathed against her hair. "Three wardens."
Their footsteps passed the opening.
Tessa could feel Rowan's heartbeat through his coat. Fast. Not afraid, he would claim. Just prepared.
The seal's map glowed between them.
A new message appeared beneath the white circle.
Not in symbols.
In words.
Rowan's hand dropped from Tessa's mouth.
She read the message aloud. "I'm alive."
Rowan went still.
The voice came from the seal, softer now. Familiar. Impossible.
"Don't trust Rowan."
Tessa turned toward him, but his hand closed around her wrist before she could step away.
His face was inches from hers, his breath warm against her cheek.
"Tessa, if you follow that map, you won't—"