Chapter 31 · Give Me Back My Blood

The core key burned against my ribs. Cold metal shouldn't feel like it's trying to crawl inside you, but here we are.

Sloane's father kept his office three floors below the main arena. Past the med bay. Past the holding cells where they stored losers who couldn't walk out on their own. The hall smelled like disinfectant and old blood, and every door we passed had a lock I didn't recognize.

"You good?" Kade kept his voice low.

I wasn't. Nox pressed against the inside of my skull like it was trying to dig through bone. Ever since my sister slipped me the key, my shadow had been crawling up my spine in waves. Not pain. Worse. Recognition.

"Fine."

"Liar."

Yeah, well. I had a key to the thing keeping this whole city lit, and the man who ran the blood fights thought I was upstairs sleeping off my last match. Fine was relative.

We hit the stairwell. Kade checked the camera in the corner. It was already looping. Sloane's work. She was better at this than anyone gave her credit for—rich girl who knew how to break her own family's security without leaving a trace.

She wasn't here, though.