Chapter 30 · The Hypocrite's Ace

"One little key, Alice. That's all it takes to make this nightmare vanish."

Caine's voice dripped with that fake concern. The kind that used to make me melt. Now? It just made me want to rip his throat out.

He held up the Resonance Stone. The gem pulsed with a sickly violet light—the exact color of the stolen talents I’d ripped from the nobility. It was glowing like a neon sign pointing straight to my execution.

I didn't move. I couldn't.

Silas was still too close. His chest nearly brushed mine, body heat radiating through my clothes. My heart hammered against my ribs. Not fear. Just the suffocating tension of being trapped between the man who wanted to burn me and the man who was supposed to be lighting the match.

"You’re shaking," Caine chuckled. He stepped closer, glancing at Silas with a smug tilt of his head. "Inquisitor, I imagine the High Council would love to know your little pet isn't just a villainess. She's a soul-stealer. That’s a one-way ticket to the void, isn't it?"

Silas’s hand tightened on my waist. Not gentle. A claim.