Chapter 4 · Untitled Chapter

"Your mark says you did."

"My mark can be copied."

"Not into a bonded ring."

Cassian's jaw tightened. "Who told you that?"

"The same person who told me your council meeting wasn't a meeting. It was a setup."

"Names."

"Give me the door."

His eyes narrowed. "You're not in a position to bargain."

"You're the one who locked us in a tower while the harbor floods. Looks like we're both making bad choices."

Another boom ripped through the tower.

The floor kicked beneath my boots. Dust sifted from the ceiling. Red lamps blinked once, twice, then died.

Emergency lights flared along the walls, carving Cassian's face into hard planes of blue and black.

He reached for me.

I slammed my back against the door and raised my knife. "Touch me, and you lose a finger."

He stopped.

His gaze dropped to the blade, then rose to mine. "You won't stab me."

"Try me."

"You need my clearance to get out."

"And you need me to find the failing gate."

"Then stop wasting time."

"Stop ordering me around."

His mouth flattened. "You want me to ask nicely?"

"I want you to admit you need me."

"I need the log."

"That's not what I said."

For one tight second, only the alarms and grinding metal spoke for us.

Then Cassian stepped closer.

The knife stayed between our bodies, but he didn't grab my wrist. He closed his hand around the flat of the blade and pushed it aside with careful pressure.

His knuckles brushed mine.

Warm. Steady. Infuriating.

My breath caught anyway.

"You always do this," he said.

"Do what?"

"Turn every order into a fight."

"You always make every fight worth winning."

His eyes locked on mine. "You ran from the ceremony with a stolen command seal."

"You cut me loose in front of the council."

"Because you were about to be arrested."

I blinked. "You rejected me to protect me?"

His hand went still against mine.

There.

A crack in that perfect commander mask.

I leaned closer, close enough to feel his breath skim my lips. "Say it."

"Don't twist this."

"Say you didn't reject me because you believed them. Say you didn't stand there and let every person in that room watch me get humiliated because telling me the truth was too hard."

"Mara—"

"Say it."

His breath warmed my mouth. His fingers tightened around the knife.

Then he said, "I rejected the bond because the council had already marked you for execution."

The words hit harder than the alarm.

I stared at him. "They what?"

"Your hearing reports. The flood warnings. The missing log. They called it sabotage."

"And you believed them?"

"No."

"Then why did you—"

"Because if they saw the bond still held, they'd use you to get to me."

My grip loosened around the knife.

Cassian noticed. Of course he did.

His thumb slid over my knuckles, wiping blood from the cut left by the ring. His gaze dropped to the blue-lit wound in my palm.

"You should've told me," I whispered.

"You would've stayed."

"Damn right, I would've stayed."

"That's what I was afraid of."

The tower groaned beneath us.

A warning bell changed pitch. The sound climbed into my skull.

Cassian's head snapped toward the sealed stairwell. "The east gate."

"How long?"

He touched the comm at his throat. Static hissed against his fingers.

"Cassian. How long?"

"Four minutes. Maybe less."

"Open the door."

His gaze cut back to me. "Tell me where the log is."

I laughed once. It came out sharp and breathless. "You're still doing this?"

"If the log proves who opened the gate, I can stop the council from blaming you."

"You can stop them by admitting your seal was used."

"Not without proof."

I lifted the injured hand between us. "The ring is proof."

"The ring is damaged."

"The log isn't."

His stare sharpened. "You have it."

I said nothing.

He stepped in until my back hit the steel hard enough to rattle my teeth. The knife was trapped between us now.

His body heat soaked through my shirt. His chest nearly brushed mine. His mouth hovered a breath away, but he didn't touch me.

That restraint hurt worse than a kiss.

"Where is it?" he asked.

"Ask me like you mean it."

His eyes burned into mine. "Where is the floodgate log, Mara?"

"Close."

"Where?"

I let my gaze drop to his mouth. "Closer than you think."

A violent jolt threw us together.

My lips brushed the corner of his mouth.

Cassian went still.

So did I.

His hand clamped around my waist before my knees could buckle. Heat punched through the fabric between us, and the rejected bond flared awake—hot, sharp, alive.

Air vanished from my lungs.

His voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't."

"You kissed me."

"You fell."

"You caught me."

"Mara."

"What? Scared the bond isn't dead after all?"

His thumb pressed into my side. "I'm scared it never was."

The confession hung between our mouths.

Then the comm at his throat crackled.

A guard's voice broke through the static. "Commander, the lower ward doors are opening. Someone's overriding your seal."

Cassian's expression changed.

Not fear.

Recognition.

I saw it and pulled the ring against my chest. "You know who's doing it."

"No."

"You do."

"Mara, give me the ring. Now."

"Tell me who has your command."

He reached for my hand.

The ring flared blue.

A second mark burned across its cracked surface—one I'd never seen before.

Cassian stared at it.

His fingers froze inches from mine.

"That's impossible," he breathed.

My pulse slammed against my throat. "What is it?"

He looked from the ring to my face.

Behind me, the sealed door unlocked with a heavy metallic click.

Cassian grabbed my waist and yanked me against him as a voice on the other side said—