"Because you are touching me."
His thumb shifted over the inside of my wrist. One slow pass.
"You're lying."
"You always assume that."
"You always lie."
"Then why are you still listening?"
Something moved behind his eyes. Not softness. Recognition, maybe. It disappeared before I could catch it.
He released me.
The instant his hand left, the chain flared again.
Cael's jaw clenched. "It reacts to distance."
"Very good. You can read."
"And to lies."
Sable stepped between us. "You two can flirt after we aren't being hunted."
"We are not flirting," I said.
Cael looked at me. "No?"
"Don't start."
"You started when you came back."
"I told you, I came for Sable."
"You crossed half the lower district to reach this gate."
"I was running from wardens."
"You ran toward the only place they knew I'd be."
Sable's eyes narrowed. "Wait. How did they know?"
A bell rang above the rooftops. Once. Twice. Three times.
The wardens had called for reinforcements.
Sable pulled a narrow knife from inside her coat. "We need to move."
Cael didn't look away from me. "Break the cuffs first."
"The cuffs are yours."
"The spell is yours."
"You think I can break noble silver with a hand I can't even use?"
"I think you can do anything when someone is about to take your head."
I shoved his chest.
It was a stupid move. His coat was rough beneath my palm, and the muscle under it barely moved. He caught my hand before I could pull away.
"Careful," he murmured.
"Or what? You'll arrest me again?"
His grip tightened just enough to make the point. "Or I will forget why I am trying not to hurt you."
The words should have frightened me.
They did.
They also sent a hot, sharp rush through my chest that had nothing to do with the chain.
I pulled harder. "Then remember."
His gaze dropped to our hands.
For one breath, neither of us moved.
Sable cleared her throat. "This is adorable, but the murder squad is almost here."
Cael released me. "What did you steal from the duke?"
"Nothing."
The chain burned.
I hissed.
Cael's eyes narrowed. "Try again."
"A ledger."
"What ledger?"
"The one that proves Harrow was selling contract names to the nobles."
"And the one that proves you killed him?"
"That page was added after I stole it."
Sable glanced toward the alley mouth. "We can argue about forged pages in a less exposed location."
Cael seized the chain and pulled me behind him.
I stumbled into his back. Heat came through his shirt. Solid. Annoyingly steady, even while the silver cuffs were cutting into his wrists.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Keeping you behind me."
"I don't need a shield."
"You need something."
"I need you to stop treating me like property."
He turned his head slightly. "The contract disagrees."
A spear flew from the alley mouth.
Cael knocked it aside with his bound hands. The weapon spun into a wall.
Five wardens rushed in behind it, all wearing gray masks and black gloves. Their leader carried a hooked blade etched with a nullifying charm.
"Cael Rook," the leader called. "Step away from the witch."
"No," Cael said.
"She's wanted for Lord Harrow's murder."
"So am I."
The leader hesitated. "You are under recall. The city wants you contained before the eclipse."
Cael laughed once. There was no humor in it.
"Tell the city to come contain me itself."
The wardens spread out.
Sable grabbed a loose brick and threw it at the nearest lantern. Darkness slammed over half the alley.
"Run!" she shouted.
Cael shoved me left while Sable went right. We made it three steps before the chain snapped tight.
Pain ripped through my shoulder. Cael stopped at the same time, dragged backward by the invisible limit.
"Three steps," I said through my teeth.
"I noticed."
A warden charged me.
Cael moved first. His fist hit the man's chest and sent him crashing into two others. The impact shook dust from the bricks.
The fourth warden came at Cael with the hooked blade.
I saw the charm before Cael did. A thin red line ran along the weapon's edge, aimed at the contract marks on his cuffs.
"Left!" I yelled.
Cael twisted. The blade caught his side instead of his heart. Blood soaked through his shirt.
He looked down.
Then he looked at me.
"You warned me."
"Don't sound touched. I need you alive."
"For the ledger?"
"For the same reason you kept me alive."
His face went still.
The warden swung again.
Cael caught the man's wrist. The muscles in his arm jumped. Gold spread across his eyes, brighter this time. His fingers changed first, nails sharpening into dark claws.
Sable appeared behind the warden and smashed the brick against his mask.
"Less staring, more surviving!" she yelled.
The warden dropped.
Cael's claws remained.
The chain flared blue, and his shoulders jerked as if an invisible hook had sunk into him.
"Cael," I said.
He didn't answer.
"Cael, look at me."
His head turned slowly.
The alley seemed to shrink around his body. His breathing came deep and rough. His lips pulled back just enough to show the edge of a fang.
Sable backed away. "Lia."
"I see him."
"No, you don't. That's not him."
Cael took one step.
The chain dragged me toward him.
"Stop," I said.
He took another.
"Cael."
His claws struck the wall beside my head.
Stone cracked under the impact.
The second hand closed around my throat.
Not hard enough to crush. Hard enough to make the message clear.
My back hit the bricks. His body blocked the alley light. Heat rolled off him, and his breath brushed my cheek. His claws curved beneath my jaw, sharp enough that one wrong movement would open skin.
Sable lifted her knife. "Let her go!"
Cael's head tilted toward her, but his eyes stayed on me.
"Don't come closer," I warned.
"Lia, I mean it."
"So does he."
Cael's thumb pressed beneath my chin. His grip tightened.
The chain burned through my wrist. Blue script flashed between us.
LIE DETECTED.
I stared at the words.
"What lie?" Sable demanded.
Cael leaned closer. "You said you came for her."
"I did."
The mark burned again.
He watched my face. "Say it without lying."
"I came for Sable."
"And me."
"No."
His claws pressed closer.
I could feel his pulse through his palm. Fast. Wild. He was fighting himself, and I was the only thing holding the line.
"Say my name," I whispered.
His eyes flashed gold.
"What?" Sable asked.
"Just shut up."
Cael's thumb shifted. His breath touched the corner of my mouth.
"Say it," I told him. "Say my name."
His grip froze.
"Lia."
The gold vanished.
His claws stopped against my skin.
For one terrifying second, he stared at me like he had just been pulled out of deep water. His hand remained around my throat, but the pressure eased. His shoulders shook once.
"Cael," I said again, softer. "Let go."
He did.
I slid down the wall, coughing. My knees hit the ground. Cael stepped back as if my skin had burned him.
Sable rushed to me. "Are you hurt?"
"My pride."
"Your throat is red."
"It'll match my temper."
Cael stood three steps away, staring at his own hand. The claws had pulled back, but dark lines still crawled beneath his skin.
"You knew that would work," he said.
I rubbed my neck. "I guessed."
"You knew."
"Would you prefer I let you tear me open?"
His gaze snapped up. "Don't say that."
"Why? It almost happened."
"Because I heard you before."
The words came out rough.
Sable went quiet.
I rose slowly. "Heard me where?"
Cael looked away. "I don't know."
"That is convenient."
"You think I enjoy losing control?"
"I think you enjoy pretending you don't know why it happens."