Chapter 16 · The Girl in the Ring

"Don't touch the ring." Cade caught Evelyn's wrist before her fingers reached the black metal.

His grip was hard enough to hurt. His other hand held a pistol aimed at the circle carved into the vault floor.

Inside that circle, a girl stood barefoot and shaking.

Evelyn stopped breathing.

"Mira."

The girl lifted her head.

Same dark braid. Same sharp chin. Same tiny scar beside her left eyebrow. The scar Evelyn had given her with a kitchen knife when they were children and arguing over a stolen peach.

Mira smiled like she had been waiting a very long time.

"You took your time."

Evelyn slammed her elbow backward. Cade grunted but didn't let go. His chest hit her shoulder blades, warm through both their coats. His breath touched the side of her neck.

"Let go."

"Not until you tell me what that is."

"My sister."

"Your sister died six years ago."

"You watched her die?"

"I watched you bury her."

Evelyn twisted against him. The obsidian ring around her wrist flashed red, and pain shot through both of them. Cade's fingers tightened by instinct.