Chapter 10 · The Door That Knows My Blood

"Where is he?"

"You want the recording? Open the core door. Your blood will unlock it."

Carson's fingers crushed my wrist. "No."

"You heard him," I said. "The recording is behind that door."

"So is whatever Vale wants you to see."

"Noah could be dying."

"He could be bait."

"He's my brother."

"And you're my wife."

The word hit harder than his grip.

Wife.

Not prisoner. Not suspect. Not the enemy he'd dragged before a tribunal in chains.

His wife.

I looked down at the ring on my finger. When the contract changed, the metal had bitten into my skin. A thin line of blood slipped beneath it.

"Say it again," I said.

Carson's eyes narrowed. "Don't."

"You want the bond to work? Use it. Tell them I'm your wife. Tell them you're responsible for keeping me alive."

"Ivy—"

"Tell them."

He moved first.

Not toward the core door. Toward the tribunal recorder.

I tore my wrist free and lunged for the relay, but Carson caught the back of my coat. He yanked me into his chest.