Chapter 41 · The Rebel King's Mark

"What?" I snapped as Carson stared at the marks burning across my skin.

"That color."

"You've seen it before?"

"Only in sealed royal records."

"Of course." I shoved both hands against his chest. "Step away from me."

His coat was hot beneath my palms. His body barely moved.

"If I step away, the transfer tears through you."

"Maybe that's what it takes."

"No."

The word came out too fast.

I froze.

Carson's hand slid from my arm to the back of my neck. Heat soaked through my skin. His thumb settled beneath my ear, right over the frantic beat of my pulse.

"No," he said again, quieter. "You don't get to throw your life away because you hate me."

"I don't hate you enough to die for your city."

"Then live long enough to hate me properly."

The light around us flared. Carson's knees dipped.

I grabbed his shirt. "You're taking the backlash."

"Keep your hand on me."

"Why?"

"Because the contract needs both signatures."

"I signed it already."

"Not for this.