Chapter 17 · The Voice Below

"Life bond," Kieran rasped.

His hand clamped around my wrist before I could pull away. The dark mark circling his pulse matched the one burning beneath my skin.

"Don't touch me." I shoved at his shoulder. "What the hell did you do?"

"I didn't do it." He lifted his wrist between us. The lines under the mark shifted in a slow, steady pattern. "The Registry did."

I looked down. My mark moved with his.

"That isn't an answer."

"It's a forced life bond. One link. One timer. Seven days."

The warehouse tipped under me. I caught myself against a crate and kept my eyes on him.

"Seven days until what?"

Kieran swallowed. Pain shot through the bond and caught behind my ribs. I flinched before he even showed it on his face.

"Until the bond burns out," he said. "If either of us dies before the timer reaches zero, the other dies too. When it hits zero, the Registry failsafe kills us both unless the Door is sealed."

"You left out the part where we die together."

"You didn't ask."

I slapped him.

His head snapped to the side. He didn't raise a hand.