Chapter 15 · The Blood Price of Memory

"Get your hand off me."

Riven didn't just pull away. He jerked his arm back like Mara’s touch was acid.

Mara stumbled, boots skidding on the damp stone of the inner sanctum. Under her skin, the blood-red map screamed, pulsing in time with a heartbeat that wasn't hers. She looked up at the man who had been her only anchor and saw a stranger.

No heat. No history. Just a blank, dangerous void in his eyes.

"Riven, look at me," she breathed, her voice shaking. "You don't remember? Anything about why we're here?"

He stepped into her space. He didn't do it gently. He loomed, his shadow swallowing her against the cold wall. His hand shot out, fingers digging into her jaw with a precision that felt more like an interrogation than a gesture of care.

"I remember you're a thief," he rumbled, his voice a low grate. "I remember you're a liability. And I remember I don't like being touched by people I don't trust."

"I saved your life!" Mara spat, trying to wrench her face away. "I used the contract to pull you back from the edge, and now you're treating me like a stray dog!"

"Saved me?"