Chapter 46 · The Name Beneath My Skin

"Don't burn it." I caught Kane's wrist before the flame reached the page.

The contract snapped between us. Black ink crawled across the parchment like it had teeth.

Kane looked at my hand around his wrist. Then at me.

"Let go, Evelyn."

"No."

"You don't know what you're holding."

"I know what you want to destroy. That's enough."

His mouth tightened. Fire painted one side of his face gold and left the other cold. A knife rested in his free hand, its tip pressed to the contract's edge.

Not me. The page.

My pulse jumped anyway when the blade slid closer.

"Move," he said.

"Make me."

His fingers closed around my wrist. His skin was too hot. Heat raced up my arm, followed by a sharp sting beneath my palm.

The page jerked between us.

A red line appeared across the ink.

Kane let go.

"Damn it." He shoved the parchment away. "Step back."

"You said the death echo was a lie."

"I said it wasn't safe."

"That's not the same thing."

"It is when the echo is wearing your face."

My stomach dropped.

Behind him, the sealed door shook once. Dust spilled from the iron hinges.