Chapter 3

I tried to yank my arm back. He didn't budge. Instead, he stepped closer, invading my space until I could feel the heat radiating off his chest. He smelled like ozone and old parchment—the scent of a man who spent too much time in forbidden archives and not enough time being human.

"You're not Alice," he whispered. His eyes narrowed. "The Alice I know is a spoiled brat who screams and breaks vases. You? You just stole something from me. Something that doesn't belong to mortals."

I felt a smirk tug at my lips. "Maybe I grew up. Or maybe you're not as untouchable as you think, High Inquisitor."

He didn't smile. He leaned in, his breath ghosting over my ear, a dangerous contrast to the cold grip on my wrist. "You think a little fragment of the Divine Eye makes you a player? You're a thief in a house of monsters, little girl. And you just rang the dinner bell."

*CLANG.*

The palace bells tolled. Not the hourly chime—this was the alarm. A city-wide emergency.

"What the hell is that?"

"The Purge," Silas said, his voice dropping an octave. "Caine didn't just take your family's money. He triggered the security lockdown. Anyone without a verified soul-signature is being hunted. Right now."

*CRASH.*

Iron Guards burst through the mahogany doors, armor gleaming with a sickly silver light. They weren't looking for intruders. They were looking for *me*.

"Target sighted!" the lead guard roared. "The traitor Alice! Seize her for execution!"

I bolted. I didn't think—I just pivoted, using the momentum of Silas's grip to swing myself around and sprint for the service stairs. Heavy boots thudded behind me. Metal clanking on marble.

"Dammit!" I yelled, sliding across the polished floor and slamming into a heavy oak door. Locked. I spun around, back against the wood, watching the guards close in.

Then, a blur of black and silver intercepted them.

Silas.

He didn't use a weapon. He just moved—a flicker of motion so fast it distorted the air. Three seconds. That's all it took. Two guards were on the floor, helmets cracked, gasping for air.

He stood over them, not even winded. He didn't offer a hand to help me up. He just stepped closer, pinning me against the door with the sheer weight of his presence.

"Why help me?" I spat, chest heaving. "You hate me. You've spent a year trying to throw me in a dungeon."

"I do hate you," he admitted. His voice was a low vibration I felt in my marrow. He slammed a hand against the door beside my head, his fingers brushing a stray lock of my hair. "But I hate mysteries more. And right now, you're the biggest mystery in this city. I'm not letting some mindless guards execute you before I figure out how you stole my power."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of shimmering, translucent vellum. It looked like dried skin, pulsing with a faint, violet light.

"A contract," I whispered. "The Forbidden Bind."

"A survival pact," Silas corrected. "You're a fugitive. The city wants your head. I'm the only one who can mask your signature from the Purge. But it comes with a price."

"What price?"

"Total access." His eyes locked onto mine. "I protect you, I hide you, and in exchange, I monitor every single thing you do. Your thoughts. Your movements. Your new 'gift.' If you try to run, the contract snaps your neck. If you lie, you lose your voice for a week. Deal?"

I looked at the guards returning with reinforcements. Then I looked at the man who looked like he wanted to either kiss me or dissect me.

"Fine," I hissed. "Deal."

The moment my fingers touched the vellum, electricity shot up my arm. The system flared.

[BINDING SUCCESSFUL. CONTRACT: 'THE INQUISITOR'S LEASH'. STATUS: ACTIVE.]

Silas pulled back, a thin, cruel smile finally touching his lips. He didn't let the tension break. He stepped back just enough for me to breathe, but his eyes stayed locked on mine, reading the footnotes of my soul.

"Good girl," he murmured. "Now, let's get you out of here before Caine realizes I've decided to keep you as a pet."

He grabbed my hand—possessive, firm—and dragged me into the hidden passages. We moved through the damp, narrow veins of the palace, the Purge echoing above. Every time I tried to pull away, a sharp tug hit my chest. The leash.

"Where are we going?"

"The Lower District," Silas replied without looking back. "The only place the Guards are too afraid to go. And the only place we can figure out who gave you that system."

I froze. "How do you know about the system?"

Silas stopped. He turned, face shadowed by dim torchlight. He stepped into my space again, his hand sliding from my wrist to the nape of my neck, thumb pressing hard against my pulse point. My heart leaped—not from fear, but a sudden, sharp spark of something else.

"Because," he whispered, his lips dangerously close to mine, "I've been waiting for someone like you to wake up. Someone vile enough to actually use it."

He pulled an obsidian tablet from his belt. The screen flickered to life: the city's Most Wanted. My face was at the top. The bounty was astronomical. But beneath my name, a countdown timer was ticking in blood-red digits.

[00:59:59]

"What happens when that hits zero?"

Silas looked at the timer, then back at me, his eyes darkening.

"That's when the High Council sends the Executioner," he said. "And unlike the Guards, he doesn't take prisoners. He just collects souls."

I stared at the clock. Sixty minutes. That was all I had left to live if Silas decided to let go of my hand.

"You're not going to let them take me, are you?" I challenged, tilting my chin up.

Silas leaned in, lips almost touching mine, the tension pulling tight like a bowstring. He didn't answer. Instead, he shifted his grip, pulling me flush against him, his voice a low, rough command against my skin.

"Show me how evil you can get, Alice. Give me a reason to keep you alive."