Chapter 73 · The Seal in My Blood

The memory tore through me so hard I nearly bit my tongue.

“Cyrus laughing over a broken tide valve,” I gasped. “My first dive into the lower tunnels. Cassian standing on the pier after he rejected me.”

The details peeled away one by one.

His face stayed.

For now.

“Cassian.”

“I’m here.”

“Say something.”

“You’re difficult, reckless, and unbelievably stubborn.”

“That’s not enough.”

“You steal tools from my officers. You lie when you’re scared. You bite people when they corner you.”

“Keep going.”

The white light climbed to my waist. Heat crawled over my skin, searching for every memory I had left.

Cassian’s voice came through the sealed door. Rough. Close enough to feel against my throat.

“You hate sweet coffee, but you drink it when you’re too tired to argue,” he said. “You sleep with one hand under your pillow because you expect trouble. You pretend you don’t care when people stare at the scar on your shoulder.”

My throat locked. “How do you know that?”

“I watched you.”

“You rejected me.”

“I watched you before that.”

The Tideheart pulsed.

Hard.

A memory slammed into place—