Chapter 42 · The Blood Mark

"Drop the weapon, Warden." The rifle barrel dug under my jaw hard enough to bruise.

Kane stood three feet away, blood running from his side. His eyes stayed on me—not the squad surrounding us.

"You first," he said.

The council soldier shoved the barrel higher. "You don't give orders here. The contract's broken. Your wife's contaminated. Seal the chamber and burn the breach before it spreads."

"Call me contaminated again," I snapped, "and I'll make you eat that rifle."

The soldier laughed. "She still has teeth. Cute."

Kane's jaw locked.

That was the problem. He couldn't let them see the truth. If the council learned what it had done to us, they'd cut us open to study the damage.

My palm was sliced. Kane had the same cut beneath his glove, bright blood leaking through.

My shoulder burned where a blade had gone through me ten minutes ago. His coat was dark with blood in the exact same spot.

Every wound on my body opened on him.

And now we were trapped inside the memory chamber, with the seals crawling shut over the doors.

"Kane," I said, keeping my voice low. "Tell them.