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"Look at me, Kane." Silas's hand tightened around my throat. "Tell me why Lilith is still breathing."
My boots scraped uselessly against the floor. Silas had me pinned to the brick wall, one arm locked across my chest, the other hand crushing my neck. His face was close enough for me to feel the cold of his breath against my cheek.
Lilith stood three steps away, smiling like she had paid for a front-row seat.
"Because you broke in before I could kill her," I forced out.
Silas's eyes dropped to my mouth. "That sounded almost brave."
"Give me a minute. I can make it worse."
His fingers pressed harder.
The black mark under my collarbone flared. Pain ripped through me so fast my knees buckled. Silas didn't let me fall. He held me upright and watched my face while the mark crawled across my skin in thin, burning lines.
"You were warned," he said.
I clawed at his wrist. "About what? Your bad manners?"
"About her."
Lilith clicked her tongue. "You make it sound personal."
Silas didn't look at her. "You offered him the Void Heart."
My pulse stumbled.
Lilith's smile widened. "So he told you."
"You knew he would hear us," Silas said.
"I knew he would listen. There's a difference."
Silas finally turned his head. The pressure on my throat didn't ease. "Leave."
"No."
His gaze sharpened. "That wasn't a request."
"And yet you said it like one." Lilith leaned against the cracked doorway. Her red coat was torn at one shoulder, but she still looked annoyingly composed. "If you wanted me gone, you would've thrown me through the wall with him."
"Don't tempt me."
"You don't scare me, Silas."
"You should be scared of what I do to people who touch my property."
The word hit harder than his grip.
My jaw tightened. "I'm not your property."
Silas looked back at me. "Your soul says otherwise."
He tapped two fingers against the center of my chest.
The pain came without warning.
My body folded. A sound tore out of me, ugly and raw. Silas released my throat only to drive me down with one hand on my shoulder. My knees slammed into the floor. The black mark spread under my shirt, hot enough to make my vision jump.
"Stop!" Lilith snapped.
Silas kept his palm against my chest. "You don't give orders here."
"He's going to break."
"That is the point."
I shoved at Silas's wrist. It felt like pushing against steel. "You know, for a collector, you have terrible customer service."
His thumb pressed down.
My lungs locked. Every nerve in my body pulled tight at once. I tasted metal. The room tilted sideways, and my hand slipped across the floor.
"Kane." Lilith's voice cut through the ringing in my ears. "Stay awake. Don't let him pull you under."
"I wasn't planning to take a nap."
"Then stop fighting the mark."
I turned my head toward her. "You told me it was changing me. Now you're telling me to cooperate?"
"I'm telling you not to die before you get what you want."
"You mean before you get what you want."
"Both can be true."
Silas's expression didn't move, but his hand shifted. His fingers spread over my chest, and the pain sank deeper.
I saw the cards.
Not with my eyes. They flashed behind my skull—black edges, silver symbols, a single red card burning brighter than the rest. The forbidden deck was still inside my coat. I could feel its corners against my ribs.
Silas felt me notice it.
"The deck," he said.
"What about it?"
"Show me."
"Ask nicely."
His hand closed.
I screamed.
The red card burst out of my coat by itself and hovered over my knee. Its face showed a crooked crown split down the middle. The room filled with a low, vibrating hum.
Lilith's amusement vanished for half a second.
Silas stared at the card. "You drew that?"
"No. It likes drama."
"You used it against the contract-breaker in the alley."
"I used what I had."
"You didn't know what you had."
"Still worked."
The card spun once. A line of pale text appeared across its surface.
[Debt: 6 days remaining.]
My stomach dropped.
Lilith saw it too. Her eyes flicked from the card to me. "Six days?"
"Don't sound so worried."
"I'm not worried. I'm calculating."
"That's your cute way of saying you need me alive."
"Don't flatter yourself. I need the deck."
Silas reached toward the card.
The instant his finger came close, the card snapped backward and struck my chest. The symbol burned through the fabric of my shirt. I gasped and grabbed it before it could fall.
Silas watched my hand close around the card. "It answers to you now."
"Looks that way."
"You don't understand what that means."
"Then explain it."
"No."
"Right. Forgot. You prefer choking people and making mysterious faces."
His palm slammed against the wall beside my head. Dust shook loose between us. He leaned in, close enough that his coat brushed my knee. His eyes were pale and flat, but his voice dropped until it scraped across my skin.
"You are alive because I allow it. You are breathing because the contract hasn't finished with you. And you are holding that card because it has not decided to take your hand yet."
I stared at him. "Was that supposed to make me feel better?"
"No."
"Good. I'd hate to think you were trying."
His gaze held mine for one long second.
There it was. Not anger. Something colder. Interest, maybe. The kind a man showed when he found a locked door and wanted to know what was behind it.
I hated that I noticed the distance between us. Hated the heat of his hand still pressed against my chest. Hated that my breath caught when his thumb moved a fraction over the burning mark.
Silas noticed that too.
His mouth tilted, barely.
"You talk more when you're afraid," he said.
"You touch more when you're curious."
The faint smile disappeared.
Lilith laughed under her breath. "There he is. I was wondering when the gambler would start bluffing again."
Silas turned his head. "You have ten seconds to leave."
"And if I don't?"
"You won't like eleven."
Lilith pushed away from the doorway. Her boots made no sound as she crossed the room. She stopped beside me, close enough for the edge of her coat to brush my arm.
Silas's hand stayed on my chest.
Lilith looked down at it. "Move your hand."
"Make me."
"I might."
"Try."
She raised her pistol.
Not at Silas. At me.
My stomach tightened. "Seriously?"
"Don't take it personally."
"You're pointing a gun at my face."
"That's exactly why I said it."
Silas's fingers tightened again, but this time the pain didn't come. He was watching Lilith now, measuring the angle, the distance, the way her wrist stayed steady.
"You wouldn't shoot him," he said.
Lilith's red mouth curved. "You sound very sure."
"You need his mark intact."
"Maybe I only need the deck."
"Then shoot."
The barrel moved half an inch toward my forehead.
I swallowed carefully. "If either of you kills me, can you at least stop arguing over the body? It's embarrassing."
Lilith's eyes cut to mine. "You want to live?"
"Strong preference."
"Then tell him the truth."
"Which truth? You have several."
"Tell him what I offered."
Silas's stare returned to me. "What did she offer?"
I kept my hand wrapped around the red card. Its edges bit into my palm.
"A way out."
"That isn't an answer."
"She said the Void Heart could break my contract."
The room went still.
Lilith lowered the gun a fraction. "I said it could buy your freedom. I never promised it would be easy."
Silas's hand left my chest.
For one stupid second, I thought the pressure was over.
Then he seized the front of my coat and hauled me upright. My back hit the wall hard enough to rattle my teeth. His face stopped inches from mine.
"You agreed to sell me out?"
"I agreed to hear an offer."
"You took her deal."
"I didn't sign anything."
"You were going to."
"You broke the door before I got the chance."
His gaze dropped to my lips again. This time, he didn't hide it. The pause lasted barely a breath, but it landed between us like a blade.
"You think this is a game," he said.
"I know it's a game. You're the one pretending the rules are holy."
"The rules keep you alive."
"The rules own me."
His grip shifted from my coat to my collar. The fabric pulled tight beneath my jaw. His knuckles brushed my skin, cold at first, then strangely warm.
"You signed the pact," he said.
"Under pressure."
"You signed."
"I was drowning in debt. You offered me a deck and a chance to breathe."
"And you took it."
"Yeah. I took it. I didn't agree to become you."
For the first time, something moved behind his eyes.
Not guilt. Silas didn't look like a man who carried guilt. But the words found a place to land.
Lilith stepped closer. "He's right."
Silas didn't look away from me. "You are defending him now?"
"I'm defending my investment. If he becomes useless, I lose time."
"You don't own him."
"Neither do you."
His hand tightened.
The red card in my fist suddenly burned. A sharp pulse shot from my palm to my shoulder, then down into my chest. The mark under my skin answered with another flare.
I shoved both hands against Silas's chest.
He barely moved, but his attention broke for one second.
That was enough.
I drove my knee up.
Silas caught my leg before it landed. His grip closed around my ankle, and he lifted it just enough to throw off my balance. I grabbed the wall with one hand and slashed the red card across the air with the other.
The card split into three bright lines.
Silas released me and stepped back.
The lines snapped through the space where his arm had been. They struck the brick wall and carved three black grooves into it.
Lilith whistled. "Better."
"Was that a compliment?"
"Don't get used to it."
Silas looked at the marks. Then he looked at me.
"You just attacked me."
"You noticed."
"You can't hurt me."
"I can annoy you. That's half the battle."
He moved.
One second he stood by the wall. The next, his hand closed around my wrist. He twisted just enough to force the card from my fingers. His body pinned mine again, shoulder against shoulder, his forearm locked across my upper chest.
My breath hitched when his mouth came close to my ear.
"You keep testing the chain," he murmured. "One day it will pull tight."
"Maybe I like knowing where it is."
"Maybe you like pretending you have a choice."
I turned my face toward his. Our noses almost touched. His grip on my wrist didn't loosen, but his thumb pressed against my pulse.
"Maybe I like watching you lose control," I said.
His eyes dropped to my mouth again.
This time, I saw the answer before he buried it. A tiny pause. A breath held too long.
Then the mark exploded.
I hit the floor on both knees.
Silas tapped two fingers against my chest.
The pain tore through me in a hot, twisting wave. My hands slapped the ground. The red card skittered across the floor, its crown symbol flashing like a warning light.
"Silas," Lilith said, sharper now. "Enough."
"You said he needed to stay alive."
"Alive doesn't mean broken."
"It does if he keeps lying."
I dragged in a breath. "I didn't lie."
Silas tapped my chest again.
My vision blurred. "Okay! Fine! I lied a little."
"About what?"
"The card."
Lilith's gaze snapped to me. "What did you do?"
"I drew it before you arrived."
Silas's fingers stopped.
I coughed and forced myself to look up. "The deck showed me a choice. I picked the one that got me out of the alley."
"You used a card without knowing its price," Silas said.
"You keep saying that like it makes you interesting."
"It marked a second debt."
Lilith's expression tightened. "How much?"
The card on the floor turned over by itself.
[Debt: 6 days remaining. Additional claim pending.]
Nobody spoke.
I stared at the words. "Additional claim?"
Silas crouched in front of me. His knee touched the floor between mine. One gloved hand caught my chin and forced my face up.
"The deck is learning you," he said.
"It already knows I'm charming."
"It knows what you will trade."
"And what did I trade?"
His thumb rested under my jaw. The touch was controlled, almost careful, which made it worse.
"Ask the card."
"It doesn't talk."
"Neither did you, until I touched the mark."
I tried to pull back. He held me still.
Lilith lowered her pistol, but she didn't put it away. "Silas, step back."
"You don't get to tell me where to stand."
"Then listen carefully. Hunters are already moving toward this building. Your little punishment has made enough noise to wake the district."
Silas's head turned slightly. "How many?"
"Eight at the front entrance. Three on the roof. More coming through the tunnel."
I stared at her. "You knew?"
"I know lots of things."
"Like where they got the order?"
"Like who paid for it."
Silas's eyes narrowed. "Say the name."
Lilith smiled again, but there was no humor in it now. "You first. Tell him why you came personally."
Silas released my chin.
I rubbed my jaw and pushed to my feet. My knees shook, but I refused to let either of them see how badly. "Yeah. Why are you here? Collectors don't usually kick down doors for one contractor."
"You were summoned."
"By who?"
"Your contract."
"That's not a person."
"It doesn't need to be."
A heavy impact shook the door behind Lilith.
She turned, gun rising. "They found us."
Another impact. The metal frame bent inward.
Silas reached for me.
I slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me."
"You want to survive?"
"I want answers."
"You don't have time."
"Then make time."
His expression hardened. "You don't negotiate from your knees."
"I'm standing now."
"Barely."
"Still counts."
The door buckled. Dust spilled from the hinges.
Lilith glanced over her shoulder. "Kane, pick up the card."
"Why?"
"Because if they take you, they'll take it with you."
"You sound concerned again."
"I'm concerned about my property."
Silas's gaze cut toward her. "You don't own him."
She gave him a bright, dangerous smile. "Funny. You keep saying that while holding him down."
The door cracked open by an inch.
Silas stepped between me and the entrance. He moved with the calm of someone who already knew how the next minute would end. That should have made me feel safer.
It didn't.
"What happens if I refuse your order?" I asked.
"You die."
"And if I take it?"
"You hunt the target."
"Then what?"
"You bring me proof."
"And my debt?"
"Drops by one day."
Lilith's eyes narrowed. "That's a lie."
Silas didn't look at her. "You want freedom. Earn it."
"You said six days."
"Six days until the contract claims the next piece. The hunt buys you time."
"What does it cost?"
His eyes locked on mine. "That depends on whether you win."
The door burst inward.
Lilith fired first. The shot slammed into the ceiling above the intruder, showering the room with plaster. The attacker ducked, and Silas crossed the space in a blur.
I grabbed the red card from the floor.
It cut my palm with a hot flash.
[New Contract Available.]
The words appeared, then vanished before I could read the rest.
A body crashed into the far wall. Someone shouted. Lilith kicked the broken door shut and braced her shoulder against it.
"That won't hold," I said.
"Then stop watching and use the card."
"I don't know what it does."
"You never do. That's your brand."
Silas drove another hunter into the floor. The man tried to raise a blade. Silas caught his wrist and twisted until the weapon dropped.
"Kane!" he barked.
I looked at him.
His gaze cut to the red card. "Choose."
The card pulsed in my hand. Three symbols formed across its face: a locked door, a burning eye, and a black coin.
"Which one?" I shouted.
"The one you can afford."
"That's not helpful!"
"You wanted answers. Here they are. Choose wrong, and the contract takes more than a day."
The door shook again under another hit.
Lilith fired through the metal. A muffled cry answered from the other side.
"Kane," she called, "if you're going to gamble, gamble fast!"
I looked at the locked door.
Then the burning eye.
Then the black coin.
The coin felt warm beneath my thumb.
"What does the coin cost?" I asked.
Silas released the hunter and stepped toward me. "Your choice."
"You really need new lines."
"Pick it."
"And if I pick the eye?"
"You see something you can't unsee."
"The door?"
"You leave."
"And the coin?"
Silas stopped in front of me. His shadow covered my hands. "You buy one command."
Lilith's voice went quiet. "Don't use that one."
I looked at her. "Why?"
She didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
I pressed my thumb to the black coin.
The card vanished.
Every hunter in the room froze.
A dark line shot from the floor to the ceiling, splitting the air in front of me. The nearest attacker raised his weapon, but his arm jerked sideways as if an invisible hand had grabbed it.
I heard my own voice before I decided what to say.
"Drop everything and leave."
The command hit the room like a shockwave.
Weapons clattered to the floor.
The hunters turned and ran.
Lilith stared at me. "You idiot."
"You're welcome."
Silas watched the fleeing men disappear through the broken doorway. Then he looked back at me.
"You used your command on all of them."
"It worked."
"The price will come due."
"Put it on my tab."
He crossed the room in two steps.
I backed up until my shoulders met the wall. Silas planted one hand beside my head. The other caught my wrist and pinned it against the brick. His body blocked the exit. His face was close again, his breath brushing my cheek.
"You think surviving one room makes you clever?"
"No. I think it makes me alive."
"You wasted a command."
"You said choose. I chose."
"You chose without asking who the target was."
My mouth went dry. "What target?"
Silas leaned closer. "The contract didn't send you a rescue order. It sent you a hit order."
Lilith went very still.
I looked past him. "You knew."
"I came to deliver it."
"Deliver what?"
Silas pulled a thin black card from inside his coat. No symbol marked its surface. No name. No number.
He placed it against my chest, directly over the burning mark.
The card stuck to my shirt.
Words appeared in red.
[HUNT ORDER: ONE TARGET.]
The target line remained blank.
My stomach turned. "Who am I hunting?"
Silas's fingers pressed the card flat. "Someone who broke a pact with the Void."
"That's half the district."
"This one stole something from me."
Lilith's pistol lifted again. "Don't give him that order."
Silas looked at her. "You know the target."
"I know enough to tell you this ends badly."
"For whom?"
"For him, if he takes your bait. For you, if he doesn't."
Silas turned back to me. His thumb brushed once over the edge of the black card. "Hunt the target, Kane. Bring them to me alive."
"And if I refuse?"
His hand moved from my wrist to the center of my chest.
I felt the mark tighten before he even touched it.
"Then I rip your heart out now," Silas said, and his fingers pressed down as the black card finally revealed the target's name—