Chapter 54 · I Whispered

The breach yanked me off the floor.

My shoulder screamed as my body lifted an inch. The black hook twisted deeper, dragging me toward the red light below.

Kane caught my wrist.

His palm burned against mine. Blood ran between our fingers, hot and slick. The contract flashed beneath our skin.

I sucked in a breath. "Let go."

"No."

"Kane, if the city falls—"

"I know what happens."

"Then let me go."

"No."

"Stop saying that!"

His grip tightened around my wrist. "Then stop asking me to watch you die."

The words struck harder than the breach.

His thumb pressed against my pulse. Heat climbed my arm. When he bent closer, his breath brushed my cheek, hot against the cold bite of the black light.

"The contract isn't making me stay," he said.

I stared at him. "What?"

"You heard me."

"I heard a man trapped in a room with a monster."

"I'm not staying because a line of blood told me to."

His eyes held mine. "I'm staying because I choose you."

For one stupid second, the breach went quiet.

The copy stopped fighting. Even the bells vanished.

I could feel Kane's heartbeat through his wrist. Fast. Uneven. Real.