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"Move." Evelyn shoved Nolan through the busted side door before the Guard patrol turned the corner.
He hit the wall shoulder-first. Made a sound through his teeth.
"Careful," he said.
She stared. "You want careful? Try not bleeding black fire all over my coat."
Outside, boots slapped pavement. Three sets. Maybe four.
Nolan pushed off the wall like he hadn't almost folded. His shirt was ruined. Dark at the ribs, burned through at the chest. The mark between his collarbones glowed under the blood.
Not red. Not gold.
Black.
It pulsed.
He sucked in a breath so sharp somebody might've stabbed him.
Evelyn grabbed his wrist before he dropped. "Move."
"I can walk."
"Then walk faster."
The depot smelled like rust and old rain trapped in concrete. Half the ceiling had collapsed. Moonlight leaked through broken panels, striping the floor pale.
Nolan limped after her.
They crossed behind dead forklifts and a mountain of dented drums. Evelyn kept one hand on her knife. Her other hand stayed locked around his wrist.
She hated that part.
Not because his skin was warm.
Because every time she loosened her grip, the curse woke up.
The black mark tightened over his chest like something breathing.
He noticed her looking.
"You can stop checking," he said. "I'm still alive."
"For now."
"That supposed to comfort me?"
"No."
A whistle cut through the night.
Both of them froze.
A Guard voice called from the street. "Search the warehouses. Kade was taken this way."
Taken.
Evelyn almost laughed. Came out ugly and quiet.
Nolan looked at her. "What?"
"They put out a kidnapping notice in under an hour."
"My family has people everywhere."
"Yeah. I noticed when they put a kill order on my face."
His jaw tightened.
"Don't," she said.
"Don't what?"
"Don't give me that look like this wasn't your fault."
"It isn't."
"Oh, great. Even better. So the city just decided to hunt me for sport."
Nolan took one step closer. Had to brace a hand against a drum to do it, but he still managed to look down at her like he owned the air.
"You tied yourself to me."
Evelyn's laugh died.
"I did not."
"The pact is on both of us."
"I know it's on both of us." She shoved a finger at his chest, stopping just short of the black burn. "I also know I didn't walk into that room planning to marry a half-dead Kade heir."
His eyes went cold.
"Watch your mouth."
"There it is." She leaned in. "That Kade thing. You're dying in a warehouse, people are trying to shoot us both, and you still think you get to tell me what to do."
For a second, he didn't answer.
Then the black mark flared.
Nolan jerked hard enough to knock the drum over.
It crashed across concrete.
"Shit," Evelyn breathed.
Outside, the patrol went quiet.
"Inside!" a Guard shouted.
Evelyn caught Nolan under the arm and dragged him toward the far end. He was heavier than he looked. Dead-weight heavy.
His boots scraped the floor.
"Come on," she hissed. "Come on, damn it."
"I'm moving."
"You're being carried."
"That's different."
"It's really not."
There was an old service hatch behind broken pallets. Mara had shown it to her once. Years ago. Back when Evelyn still believed the broker only gave favors because she liked her.
Cute.
Nobody in the guild did anything for free.
Evelyn kicked aside a board and dropped to one knee. Found the rusted latch.
Locked.
Of course.
Behind them, the depot door groaned open.
"Guard! Show yourself!"
Nolan swayed beside her.
"Move," he said.
She looked over her shoulder. "What?"
"You go. I'll slow them down."
Evelyn blinked.
Then she grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him down close.
"Are you stupid?"
"No."
"Because that sounded stupid."
"They want me alive."
"Maybe. They want me dead. And if I leave, your little chest demon eats you before they can carry you home."
His face changed. Just a little.
Not fear. Nolan Kade probably didn't let himself do fear where anyone could see it.
But he knew she was right.
The curse had already proved it.
She let go of his shirt and pulled a thin pick from her sleeve.
"Hold still."
"I am holding still."
"You're shaking."
"I'm not."
"You are literally shaking against me."
His mouth flattened.
Evelyn shoved the pick into the lock.
Cheap pins. Old springs. Easy work. Her hands weren't steady, though. Nolan's heat pressed against her side. Every breath he took came too fast.
The patrol spread through the warehouse.
Boots. Flashlights. The dry click of spell rifles charging.
"Evelyn," Nolan said quietly.
"Not now."
"You need to hear me."
"Nope."
"My uncle—"
The lock snapped open.
Evelyn pulled the hatch wide.
A narrow maintenance tunnel waited below. Black water ran along the bottom. Smelled like dead rats and chemical runoff.
"After you," she said.
Nolan looked down. "You've got to be kidding."
"You first, Your Highness."
He gave her a look that could've frozen beer.
Then a beam of white Guard-light swept over the pallets.
Nolan dropped into the tunnel.
Landed badly.
Evelyn heard his breath catch.
"Still alive?" she whispered.
His voice came up from the dark. "Unfortunately."
She climbed down after him and pulled the hatch shut.
The tunnel swallowed them whole.
For the first thirty seconds, neither of them spoke.
Water soaked into Evelyn's boots. The ceiling forced Nolan to duck under pipes every few steps. Somewhere above, Guards crossed the warehouse floor. Their voices came through the metal in ugly little pieces.
"Find the witch."
"Orders say kill on sight."
"Don't damage Kade."
Evelyn kept walking.
Nolan's hand closed around her elbow.
"Stop."
She did, mostly because his fingers suddenly felt wrong.
Cold.
His fever-hot skin had gone cold.
"Nolan?"
He stood bent under a pipe, head lowered. Water dripped from his hair onto his face. His breathing had stopped.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
Evelyn spun toward him. "Hey."
His eyes lifted.
They weren't his.
The gray had gone flat and black around the pupils. His mouth opened, but the voice that came out didn't belong to him.
"Open the house."
Evelyn's stomach dropped.
The tunnel walls shook.
Not from the Guards.
From something moving inside the dark.
Nolan grabbed her wrist hard enough to hurt. His fingers locked around the pact mark on her palm.
Black light rushed under her skin.
She gasped.
"No," she said. "No, no. Let go."
His grip only tightened.
The water around their boots started to steam.
Then the first ghost crawled out of Nolan's chest.
It came through the black burn in strips.
A woman's hand first. Pale fingers. Burned nails. Then an arm, elbow bent wrong, dragging itself over Nolan's shirt while he stood there shaking.
Evelyn stumbled back.
The thing pulled harder.
A face pushed through his ribs.
Not solid. Not alive. Just smoke, ash, and a mouth stretched open in a scream she couldn't hear.
Nolan made a broken sound.
His knees hit the water.
"Evelyn," he choked.
His real voice. Barely there.
She looked at the hatch above them.
One climb. One sprint through the warehouse. Maybe she could make it out the far door before the curse got her too.
Maybe.
Her body wanted to run so badly her legs twitched.
A Kade had taken everything from her mother. A Kade name had been stamped on debt papers, guild warrants, every locked door she'd ever hit trying to find her brother.
And now one of them had her hand trapped in his.
"Let me go," she said.
Nolan's eyes found hers through the pain. "Can't."
"Try harder."
The ghost tore another inch out of his chest.
Blood ran down his stomach.
Not red. Black at first, then dark wine-red when it hit the water.
Nolan's fingers slipped against her palm.
"I don't want to die here," he whispered.
That did it.
Not the heir thing. Not the bargain. Not the stupid marriage pact burning between them.
Just that.
I don't want to die here.
Evelyn dropped in front of him.
"Fine," she muttered. "Fine. But if this kills me, I'm haunting you."
His mouth twitched. Could've been a smile. Could've been another spasm.
She pulled her knife.
Nolan stared at the blade. "What are you doing?"
"Fixing your mess."
"That's not reassuring."
"It's not for you."
She sliced across the heel of her hand.
Pain hit hot and clean.
Blood welled fast, bright against her skin.
Nolan's eyes widened.
"Evelyn, don't—"
She slapped her bleeding palm over his hand.
The pact mark lit up.
Gold this time.
The tunnel exploded with light.
Every pipe overhead screamed. Water jumped off the floor in hard little bursts. The ghost clawing out of Nolan's chest turned toward Evelyn.
Its mouth opened wider.
She felt it grab for her.
Not her body.
Her memories.
A small boy crying behind a locked door.
Her mother screaming, Run, Evie.
A man's ringed hand dragging her across a kitchen floor.
Evelyn snarled and shoved back.
"Get out of my head."
The ghost lunged.
Nolan caught it.
Not with his hands.
With a sound ripped from somewhere deep in his chest.
The black fire surged around him, wrapping over his shoulders and throat. For one awful second, Evelyn thought it had won.
Then Nolan looked straight at her.
"Don't let go," he said.
His voice was raw. Human. Terrified.
Evelyn tightened her grip.
"Yeah," she said. "I heard you."
The ghost screamed.
This time she heard it.
The sound punched through the tunnel and blew every light fixture overhead. Glass rained down. Nolan jerked backward, but Evelyn held on.
Blood ran between their fingers.
Gold crawled over black.
The ghost's face split apart like smoke in a hard wind.
Then it was gone.
Nolan collapsed against her.
Evelyn nearly went down with him.
For a few seconds, they stayed kneeling in the filthy water, both breathing too hard.
Her palm burned like somebody had pressed it to a stove.
Nolan's forehead rested against her shoulder.
"You still alive?" she asked.
He didn't answer.
Her heart kicked.
"Nolan."
"I'm thinking," he muttered.
"Oh, thank God. I thought you died."
"I almost did."
"Don't get dramatic."
He lifted his head slowly. The black around his eyes was gone. His face had gone pale under the grime, though, and there was blood at the corner of his mouth.
"You cut yourself for me."
"Don't make it weird."
"You used blood binding."
"I used the only thing I had."
"That wasn't a basic binding."
Evelyn stared at him. "You want to explain that sentence?"
Nolan looked at their joined hands.
His thumb brushed over the blood on her knuckles.
Too gentle. Too familiar.
She pulled her hand away.
His expression shut down fast.
"There are things my father kept from me," he said.
"Funny. There are things you keep from me too."
"I'm trying to keep you alive."
"By lying?"
"By not saying things until I know what they mean."
"That's the same thing."
Above them, a distant bang echoed through the pipework.
Guards were still searching.
Nolan pushed himself upright, slower this time. "Mara's safehouse. How far?"
Evelyn wiped blood on her coat. "Twenty minutes if we don't get shot."
"And if we do?"
"Then less."
He gave her a tired, annoyed look.
Good. Annoyed meant breathing.
They moved again.
The maintenance tunnel ran under three blocks of the factory district before it opened behind an abandoned laundromat. By then, Evelyn's hand had stopped dripping, but the cut still pulsed with every heartbeat.
Nolan kept looking at it.
She caught him the third time.
"What?"
"You should wrap that."
"I should've left you in the warehouse."
"You didn't, though."
"Don't remind me."
He almost smiled.
Almost.
Then his face went tight again and he turned away.
Evelyn watched him.
The black mark on his chest had stopped glowing, but she could still see the faint outline of it through his ruined shirt. The edges looked raw. Fresh. Like something had burned him from the inside out.
She thought about the ghost's face.
The way it had clawed through his ribs.
The way he'd looked at her when he said don't let go.
"Nolan."
He stopped.
"What was that thing?"
For a second, she didn't think he'd answer.
Then he said, quiet, "My mother."
Evelyn's breath caught.
"What?"
"The curse," he said. "It's not just a mark. It's everyone my family ever killed to keep power. Every deal. Every blood oath. Every body they buried to keep the Kade name clean."
He looked at her.
His eyes were gray again. Human again.
But there was something else in them now.
Something that looked like grief.
"And my mother was the first."
Evelyn opened her mouth.
Then the laundromat window exploded.
Glass sprayed across the alley.
Nolan shoved her sideways.
A spell rifle shot cracked through the air where her head had been.
"Run!" he shouted.
Evelyn ran.
Behind them, boots hit pavement.
A Guard voice called out, sharp and cold.
"Target acquired. Kade heir and the witch. Orders are—"
Another shot.
This one hit the brick wall beside Evelyn's shoulder.
Chips of stone stung her face.
Nolan grabbed her hand and pulled her around the corner.
They sprinted down a narrow service road. Trash cans. Fire escapes. A broken chain-link gate that Evelyn kicked open without slowing.
The Guards were close.
Too close.
Evelyn's lungs burned. Her cut hand throbbed. Nolan's grip on her wrist was the only thing keeping her upright.
And then she saw it.
The safehouse.
A three-story brick building wedged between two taller factories. No lights. No signs. Just a red door with a handprint burned into the wood.
Mara's mark.
Evelyn hit the door hard.
It didn't open.
"No," she breathed. "No, no, no."
Nolan pressed his back against the wall beside her, breathing hard. "What's wrong?"
"It's warded."
"Can you break it?"
"Not without time."
"We don't have time."
"I know!"
A spell shot hit the gate behind them.
Metal screamed.
The Guards were through.
Evelyn pressed her bleeding palm against the door.
"Come on," she whispered. "Come on, Mara. You owe me."
Nothing.
The handprint stayed dark.
Nolan looked at her. Then at the Guards rounding the corner.
Then he pressed his hand over hers.
The black mark on his chest flared.
Gold light burst from Evelyn's palm.
The door blew open.
They fell through together.
Evelyn hit the floor inside. Nolan landed half on top of her.
The door slammed shut behind them.
Outside, the Guards shouted.
Somebody tried the handle.
It didn't move.
For a few seconds, Evelyn just lay there, chest heaving, staring at the ceiling.
Nolan rolled off her.
"You okay?" he asked.
She laughed.
Couldn't help it.
It came out shaky and a little broken.
"Yeah," she said. "I'm great."
Nolan looked at her.
Then he started laughing too.
It didn't last long.
A voice cut through the dark.
"Well, well."
Evelyn sat up fast.
A woman stepped out of the shadows at the far end of the room.
Tall. Sharp-dressed. Hair pulled back so tight it looked painful.
Mara.
The broker smiled.
It didn't reach her eyes.
"Evelyn Reed," she said. "I heard you were dead."
Evelyn stood slowly. "Not yet."
"Pity."
Mara's gaze slid to Nolan.
Her smile widened.
"And you brought me a Kade."
Nolan got to his feet. Slower. Unsteady.
The black mark on his chest pulsed once.
Mara's eyes locked on it.
"Oh," she said softly. "Oh, this is interesting."
Evelyn stepped between them.
"We had a deal," she said. "You said I could use the safehouse."
"I said you could use it if you brought me something worth my time."
Mara's gaze didn't move from Nolan.
"And you did."
Evelyn's stomach dropped.
"Mara—"
"Do you know what he's carrying?" Mara asked.
She took one step closer.
Then another.
Nolan didn't move.
Evelyn's hand found her knife.
"Stay back," she said.
Mara laughed.
"Oh, sweetheart. You don't get to make threats here."
She snapped her fingers.
The walls lit up.
Ward marks. Dozens of them. Crawling over every surface like living things.
Evelyn's breath caught.
Mara tilted her head.
"The Kade curse," she said. "The one their family spent three generations trying to bury. And here it is, walking into my house, bleeding all over my floor."
She looked at Evelyn.
"You have no idea what you're holding, do you?"
Evelyn's grip tightened on the knife.
"He's under my protection."
"Is he?"
Mara's smile turned cold.
"Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're the one under his."
She raised one hand.
The ward marks flared.
Nolan made a choked sound.
The black mark on his chest spread.
Evelyn spun toward him. "Nolan!"
He dropped to one knee.
Blood ran from his nose.
Mara stepped closer.
"Let's see what's really inside you, shall we?"
The wards tightened.
Nolan's back arched.
And something in Evelyn snapped.
She didn't think.
She moved.
The knife left her hand.
It buried itself in the wall an inch from Mara's face.
The broker froze.
Evelyn's voice came out low and flat.
"Touch him again," she said, "and the next one goes through your throat."
Mara stared at her.
Then she started laughing.
Real laughter this time.
She pulled the knife out of the wall and turned it over in her hands.
"Oh, Evelyn," she said. "You really have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you?"
She tossed the knife back.
Evelyn caught it.
Mara waved a hand.
The wards dimmed.
Nolan sucked in a breath and collapsed forward.
Evelyn caught him before he hit the floor.
"I'll give you one night," Mara said. "One. After that, you're out. And if the Guards find you here, I never saw you."
She turned toward the stairs.
Stopped.
Looked back over her shoulder.
"By the way," she said. "That blood binding you used? The one that saved his life?"
Evelyn went still.
Mara smiled.
"That wasn't a basic pact, sweetheart. That was a soulbond."
Evelyn's heart stopped.
"What?"
"You didn't just tie yourself to him," Mara said. "You tied your life to his. If he dies, you die. If you run