Chapter 46 · The Command Channel

"You used the marriage clause to trap me."

Carson caught my wrist before I could reach the archive console.

His grip was firm. Not cruel.

That almost made it worse.

"I used it to keep the tribunal from burying you beside your brother," he said.

"You used it to make me your wife."

"Yes."

The answer hit harder than a denial.

I jerked against him. "You don't get to say that like it was a favor."

"I never called it a favor."

"You called it a choice."

His jaw locked.

The black contract line circled both our wrists, hot beneath my skin. Every time I saw it, I was back in the tribunal chamber. Officers watching. A ring forced onto my finger. Carson standing behind my chair with one hand resting on the back.

Not a husband.

A jailer in a better coat.

I shoved my free hand against his chest. "Let go."

He did.

Too fast.

Like he'd expected me to pull away. Like he'd already decided he would obey.

That should've helped.

It didn't.

The archive console crackled.