Chapter 8 · The Signature Beneath the Seal

"Say it," Cassian ordered. "Tell me that order isn't yours."

His blade punched through my soaked shirt and kissed my chest.

Behind him, the tide engine screamed.

Blue light strobed over his face, catching the blood sliding from his temple. His sword didn't move. Neither did I.

On the engine screen, the order burned in red letters:

FLOOD LOWER WARDS. AUTHORIZED BY TIDE-BLOOD COMMAND.

The signature beneath it twisted through the glare.

Half familiar.

Half wrong.

My blood.

His seal.

"You already decided I'm guilty," I said. "Why bother asking?"

His grip tightened around the hilt. "Because if I wanted you dead, Mara, you'd already be on the floor."

"How romantic. Should I thank you?"

His eyes dropped to my mouth.

Only for half a second.

Then they snapped back to mine.

I'd seen it. That tiny pause cut deeper than the blade.

"Don't look at me like that," he said.

"Like what?"

"Like you still know me."

"I know you put a sword against my heart. That's a pretty clear memory."

The chamber doors slammed open.

"Commander!" A guard stumbled inside, one hand clamped over his bleeding brow. "The council is demanding your presence. They saw the projection.