Chapter 21 · The Stolen Twelfth Second

"Seven." The stranger tightened the brass ring around Mara's wrist. "Choose now, thief, or watch them lose everything."

The ring bit through her sleeve. Heat crawled under her skin, sharp and fast, like a match dragged along a fuse.

Nia stood three steps away with both hands locked at her throat. No sound came out. The brass device on the stranger's palm had sealed her voice shut, leaving only panic in her eyes.

Calder moved.

Not much. Just two fingers sliding toward the knife near his boot.

The stranger glanced at him. The brass teeth clicked.

Calder's hand stopped.

His jaw tightened. "Take your hand off her."

"You don't give orders here."

"Then stop pretending this is a negotiation. You're holding a hostage and counting down a bomb."

"I'm holding the only person who can pay."

Mara pulled against the ring. It didn't shift. The stranger's grip was lean, dry, and brutally steady. His eyes stayed on her face, waiting for fear to win.

He was going to be disappointed.

"You said eleven seconds would fix all of it," Mara said. "Calder's wound. Nia's memories. My brother's trail."

"I said it would open the door.