7. Piano Keys
Chapter seven
Piano Keys
Ace
Hidden deep beneath the stone of the mountainside, far beneath Cyrus’ reach, Ace opened his eyes—already knowing the hourglass had cracked. The hunt had begun. Not just Maddox and Arley, but now the Spade court was stirring, sharpening their blades and scenting for blood.
His tattoos burned first. The chains inked around his arms tugged taut, as though straining against unseen shackles.
Smoke writhed over his skin in restless coils, the thorns etched across his chest seeming to dig deeper, biting as if they too sensed the coming storm.
He flexed his fingers, feeling the marks crawl with heat, alive in a way that made his pulse pound harder.
Every stroke of ink was a reminder that his power was not wholly his own—it was bound, cursed, branded into him like a sentence he’d never outrun.
Leaving Scarlett, he stalked the obsidian halls, shadows catching in the shifting ink along his spine.
He needed distance, silence, a place where the thrum of the chains on his skin couldn’t choke him.
But there would be no reprieve. The Spade court was coming.
The storm was coming. And with every step, the tattoos reminded him—he was already caught in it.