Chapter 11 · Black Market Bargains

Calder’s knife pressed under Mara’s jaw before she could reach for the door.

"Touch that handle and I break your fingers," he said.

Mara held still. The blade was cold. His hand wasn’t.

"You’re getting clingy."

"You’re getting reckless."

"I’m getting us out before the people outside decide to sell our teeth. Move the knife."

His eyes stayed on hers. Dark. Sharp. Too close.

Behind him, the abandoned butcher shop shook with someone pounding on the metal shutters. A voice shouted Calder’s name. Another promised a hundred seconds for Mara alive and twice that for Calder dead.

Calder leaned closer. His coat brushed her wrist, and the burn under her skin answered with a hot pulse.

"Tell me what Nia put in that vial."

"She put it in my hand. That’s different."

"Mara."

"Fine. It’s a stabilizer."

"For what?"

"The mark. The chain. Your charming habit of bleeding on me. Pick one."

His jaw tightened. The knife didn’t move.

"You knew it could hurt me."

"I knew it might."

"That wasn’t my question."

The pounding got louder. Dust dropped from the ceiling. Somewhere outside, a glass bottle shattered.

Mara smiled without feeling it. "You want the honest answer?"

"For once."