Chapter 28 · Standing in Ash

"Get your hand off me before I cut it off," Vesper spat, though her blade didn't move an inch toward his throat.

Lucian didn't let go. His fingers were clamped around her wrist, his skin slick with a mixture of blood and something darker—something that shimmered like oil under the flickering orange light of the burning district. He could feel her pulse hammering against his palm, fast and erratic. She was terrified, not of the fire, but of him.

"You're not leaving," Lucian said. His voice was different now. It wasn't the strained, rasping tone of the man in the wheelchair. It was heavy. It carried a vibration that made the shattered glass at their feet rattle.

"You're a monster," she whispered, her eyes searching his. "The Dream Lord... the thing that's been tearing through the Inquisition... it's you. All this time, I was guarding a god who likes to play pretend in a chair."

Lucian pulled her closer, the distance between them vanishing until she could feel the unnatural heat radiating from his chest. He didn't apologize. He didn't explain. He just looked at her with eyes that weren't entirely human anymore—