Chapter 6 · The Price of a Name

"Don't sign it again."

Kane caught my wrist a breath before my blood touched the glowing line.

His fingers burned against my skin. Not warm. Burning.

The pact had carved his hidden name beneath the final clause. Now the ink crawled toward my thumb, black and hungry, searching for a way into my veins.

I twisted against him. "Then stop trying to pay for it alone."

"You don't know what you're asking for."

"I know you almost tore your own heart out in front of half the city. Seems worth interrupting."

The bedroom lurched.

Dust rained from the ceiling. Beyond the walls, the breach groaned beneath the stone like something alive—and trapped.

Kane let go of me and staggered back.

His face went rigid. One hand clamped over his chest.

"Kane?"

"Stay away."

"That wasn't a suggestion you get to make."

He slammed his palm onto the black-glass table.

A crack split the surface beneath his hand.

The pact flashed between us. Red lines ripped across the page, then leaped onto Kane's skin. They climbed over his wrist, his throat, the sharp edge of his jaw.

He sucked in a breath through his teeth.

I stepped closer.