Chapter 14 · What the Seven Days Cost

"Get off me, Caelan." Lyra shoved both hands against his chest as his claws dug into the stone beside her head. "If you bite me again, I swear I'll break every tooth you have."

His face was inches from hers. His breath hit her cheek, hot and rough. Black veins crawled up his throat, disappearing under the torn collar of his shirt. The moonlit chains from the gate had wrapped around his arms and waist, but they were slipping loose.

He looked at her without seeing her.

"Caelan." She slapped him.

His head snapped to the side. For half a second, his eyes cleared.

Then the curse pulled him back.

He caught her wrist and slammed it above her head. The stone bit into her shoulder. His grip was hard enough to stop her pulse.

"You smell like blood," he growled.

"That happens when idiots let hunting beasts chew on them."

His lips pulled back from his teeth.

Lyra twisted her wrist, trying to find the weak point in the bond. The contract burned under her skin. Seven black lines circled her forearm. The newest one had already turned silver at the edges.

Another piece of her life.