Chapter 18 · The Order They Buried

Dorian caught my wrist before I could touch the memory core.

"Don't," he said.

His fingers locked around me, hot and hard against the burn mark on my skin. The mark answered with a sharp pulse. My knees almost buckled.

"Let go."

"Mara."

"You don't get to use that voice with me." I yanked against him. "Not after dragging me into chains. Not after deciding what I was allowed to remember."

His jaw tightened. "The crown's purge order is inside that core. If I pull it, we find out who signed it."

"You mean you find out if you signed it."

He went still.

That was answer enough.

Behind him, the black memory core sat inside its metal casing, buried in the center of the archive table. Thin red lines crawled over the casing. The original record. The proof that could clear my name. The same proof that might prove Dorian had helped erase an entire bloodline.

A hard boom shook the sealed archive doors.

Dorian released my wrist and reached for his sword.

"How long?" I asked.

"Three minutes. Maybe less."

"And you waited until now to mention the kill team?"

"I was busy keeping you alive.