Chapter 16 · The Blood on Her Hands

Dorian’s knife stopped an inch from Nessa’s throat.

She didn’t breathe. Didn’t blink. Her fingers crushed the blood-soaked list until the paper crackled in her fist.

Then something knocked from inside the wall behind her.

Once.

Twice.

Dorian’s blackened eye tracked the sound. “Move.”

“You first.”

“Nessa.” His voice came out rough, almost doubled by the curse. “The knife isn’t pointed at you.”

A seam split open in the vault wall.

Nessa threw herself sideways as the hidden panel slammed down. A body pitched through the gap and hit the floor between them with a wet, heavy smack.

Dorian caught himself against the blood engine. Red light crawled over the black veins covering half his face. He looked worse than he had thirty seconds ago.

Good.

He deserved worse.

Nessa stayed low, one hand braced on the floor and the other tucked close to her chest. The list was still there. Colin Quill at the top.