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"Don't shoot yet." Julian caught my wrist before my finger touched the trigger.
His hand was hot. Too hot. The altar burn had spread from his shoulder down his side, turning the skin above his collar red and angry. His grip still had enough strength to stop me, though.
I twisted hard. "Let go."
"You fire that round into Celeste, you might bring the thing behind her down on us."
"That thing is already coming down on us."
The stone saint split another inch.
A black claw pushed through the crack.
Not a hand. Not human. The fingers were too long, jointed wrong, and tipped with pale hooks that scraped across the statue's gold-painted ribs.
Julian's grip tightened. "Mara. Look at me."
"I am looking at the target."
"You're looking at the woman who killed your family. The target is behind her."
Celeste smiled from inside the broken statue. Her face still had the shape of a saint's—soft cheeks, calm eyes, a mouth made for blessing crowds. The rest of her had changed. Dark plates covered her throat and jaw. Thin lines of silver light ran beneath her skin. Something moved behind her shoulders, folding and unfolding like wings made of wire.
"He finally told you," Celeste said. Her voice came from everywhere at once. "How sweet. Julian always did hate sharing his secrets."
I pulled again. Julian's wounded side slammed into my shoulder, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
"You're bleeding on me," I snapped.
"You're welcome."
"I didn't thank you."
"You will. Later."
His mouth barely moved, but I saw the challenge in his eyes. He was pale. Sweat ran from his temple to his jaw. Still, he stood between me and the thing trying to crawl out of the saint.
That made me want to shove him away.
It also made my hand stop shaking.
Celeste's claws dragged down the statue with a shriek. Stone chips struck the floor around our boots.
"Give me the gun, Mara," she said. "I'll show you what your mother begged for."
"You already showed me enough."
"No. You saw the lie. Not the reason for it."
Julian stepped in front of me.
His shoulder brushed my chest. His back blocked my shot, and the movement pulled a rough sound from him.
"Get behind me," he said.
I stared at the side of his face. "You can't even stand straight."
"I can stand long enough."
"You have one good arm."
"Then stay on my good side."
"You're giving orders again?"
He looked back at me. His face was inches from mine now. Heat rolled off him. His breath hit my lips, uneven but steady enough to make my pulse jump against the lock at my throat.
The blue numbers burned brighter.
48:12:04.
His gaze dropped to the light at my neck.
"Your time is running," he said.
"I noticed."
"If I die, that lock closes."
"I noticed that too."
"So when I tell you to move, you move."
I pressed the muzzle beneath his chin.
"Try telling me again."
For one second, neither of us moved.
His fingers slid from my wrist to the inside of my palm. Not gentle. Not rough enough to hurt. Just enough to remind me that he could take the gun if he wanted it.
His eyes held mine.
"Move," he said quietly.
I hated that my breath caught.
I hated more that I obeyed.
I stepped behind him as the statue exploded outward.
Julian shoved me down. Stone and metal tore through the air. Something hit the floor where my head had been, and the impact cracked the tiles.
I rolled, came up on one knee, and fired.
The special round punched through the dark shape between us and Celeste. Blue fire burst across the chamber.
Celeste screamed.
The sound rattled my teeth.
The bullet had struck her upper arm. Black fluid sprayed across the saint's white robe, smoking where it landed. Celeste looked at the wound, then at me.
"You kept the last one," she said.
"I like having options."
"You don't have options. You have a dying man, a stolen lock, and a door you can't open."
"I still have bullets."
"One."
"One is enough."
Her smile disappeared.
The creature behind her pulled itself free.
It was taller than the statue, all narrow limbs and folded armor. Its head scraped the broken halo. There was no face, only a smooth mask split by a vertical mouth.
Julian grabbed the back of my coat and yanked me sideways.
A blade of white light cut through the air where my neck had been.
It grazed Julian instead.
The beam kissed his throat. A thin red line opened under his jaw.
He staggered.
"Julian!"
He dropped to one knee, one hand clamped over his neck.
I moved before I thought.
I stepped in front of him and raised the gun at the monster.
"Touch him again," I said, "and I put this round through your face."
Julian caught the back of my belt. "Mara, don't."
"Shut up."
"You don't know what that thing is."
"Neither does it know what I am."
The monster tilted its head.
A small bell rang inside the walls.
Celeste laughed. "That is exactly why it wants you."
"What did you call it?"
"The first saint."
"Saints don't look like that."
"This one was never meant to look holy."
The creature took one step.
The floor buckled beneath it.
Julian pulled himself upright behind me. His chest pressed against my back for half a second, then he forced distance between us. His hand stayed at my waist, though. A firm anchor. A warning.
"Back to the door," he said.
"The vault door?"
"The one with the Vale mark."
I glanced over my shoulder. "You said the exit needed both keys."
"It does."
"Then why are we running to it?"
"Because the thing behind us doesn't need a key."
The monster lifted an arm.
The chamber lights went out.
I heard Celeste whisper, "Run."
Then the first body hit the floor.
I grabbed Julian's hand and pulled.
He cursed but followed. His fingers locked around mine as we crossed the broken tiles. The heat of his palm bled into my hand. His stride dragged on the right, but he didn't complain again.
Behind us, stone shattered.
"Faster," I said.
"I'm trying."
"Try harder."
"You want to carry me?"
"I want to leave you."
"Liar."
I glanced at him. "Keep talking and I'll prove you right."
His mouth twitched, almost a smile.
Then he stumbled.
I caught him under the ribs. His body slammed against mine, and his breath broke against my ear.
"Don't touch the burn," he warned.
"Then stop falling on me."
"I'm not falling."
"You're leaning."
"There's a difference."
"Not when you're bleeding on my boots."
The lock at my throat pulsed.
48:05:51.
The blue light spread across my collarbone. Julian saw it and went still.
"What?" I demanded.
"The numbers changed."
"They've been changing since you gave me the lock."
"No. Look at the second line."
I looked.
A thin line of text had appeared beneath the countdown.
HEARTBEAT LINK: UNSTABLE.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the lock isn't just tracking my heart anymore."
"You said it transferred to me."
"I said I thought it transferred."
I shoved him against the wall beside the vault entrance. His head knocked the stone, and his breath hissed between his teeth.
"You thought?"
"I was busy being stabbed."
"You knew there was a chance."
"I knew there were several chances."
I pressed the gun beneath his ribs, careful to avoid the burned side. "Start explaining."
His hand closed around my forearm. The wall was cold behind him. He was hot between us. Too close. Close enough for me to feel the tremor in his fingers.
"The lock reads both of us," he said. "If your pulse drops, it pulls from mine. If mine stops, the door seals. If either of us gets too far away—"
"It kills us?"
"It traps us."
"That isn't better."
"I didn't say it was."
A crash thundered through the chamber.
Julian pushed away from the wall and dragged me toward the vault door.
I dug my heels in. "You don't get to hide things and then pull me around like luggage."
"You can yell at me after we open it."
"If we open it."
"You need out. I need the truth."
"You need me to bleed on a door."
"I need your blood and my key."
"And if the vault is worse than Celeste?"
He stopped.
The silence between us lasted one beat.
"Then you shoot me," he said.
I stared at him.
"You're serious."
"You have the gun. You have the last round. If I turn into something you can't stop, you pull the trigger."
"You think that makes me trust you?"
"No. I think it gives you a reason to stay close."
His eyes dropped to my mouth for the briefest second.
The movement was small. I still felt it like a hand.
I lifted the gun higher. "Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you expect me to save you."
"I expect you to aim straight."
"Keep pushing."
"You keep coming back."
The monster roared behind us.
The sound shook dust from the ceiling.
I grabbed Julian by the collar and slammed his palm against the vault seal. He winced. A thin cut ran across his hand from the shattered stone.
"Blood," I said. "Now."
"That was your plan?"
"You got a better one?"
"Several. None polite."
"I don't care about polite."
I drew my knife and sliced my own palm.
Julian's expression changed.
"Mara—"
"Don't start."
"You don't know how much it needs."
"Then watch closely."
I slapped my bleeding hand against the Vale mark.
The door drank the blood.
Not absorbed. Drank.
The mark flashed red, and the lock at my throat answered with a sharp burst of blue. Julian's hand hit the seal beside mine.
For half a second, nothing happened.
Then the vault spoke.
"Vale blood accepted. Knox heartbeat required."
Julian went rigid.
"That voice," he said.
"You recognize it?"
"No."
"That was a lie."
"Mara, keep your hand on the door."
"Tell me who built this place."
"Keep your hand there."
"Tell me why my mother's voice was in the tunnel."
His jaw tightened.
The door flashed.
"Heart rate falling," the vault announced.
Julian's fingers slipped on the seal.
I caught his wrist. "Hey. Stay with me."
"I'm here."
"You look like hell."
"You always this charming when you're worried?"
"I'm not worried. I'm irritated."
"Sure."
His pulse beat under my fingers. Fast. Uneven.
The lock at my throat pulsed with it.
The monster hit the far side of the chamber. The impact threw a wave of force across the floor. Celeste's body slammed into a pillar, but she rose again, smiling through the black blood on her arm.
"Open it," she called. "Go on, little heir. See what your family buried."
"You sound scared," I shouted back.
"I'm not scared of what is inside."
"Then why aren't you coming closer?"
Celeste's smile twitched.
Julian looked at me. "That was stupid."
"It worked."
"It made her angry."
"Same thing."
Celeste raised both hands.
The monster turned toward us.
Julian's arm came around my waist and hauled me against him. His chest hit my shoulder blades. His wounded side pressed into me, and he made a rough sound near my ear.
"You hurt?" I asked.
"No."
"Liar."
"Keep your hand on the seal."
"Keep your arm off me."
"Pick one."
The creature lunged.
Julian shoved me flat against the vault door and covered me with his body.
The impact came a second later.
A black limb struck his back. His breath vanished. His knees nearly folded.
I caught him by the front of his shirt.
"Julian!"
"Don't let go."
"I wasn't planning to."
"You should."
"Not today."
He lifted his head. His face was close enough that our foreheads almost touched.
"Mara," he said, voice low, "if the door opens, you go first."
"No."
"That's not a debate."
"Then stop talking."
"You go first."
"And leave you here?"
"You need to live."
"You don't get to decide that."
His eyes held mine. The chamber shook around us. His hand remained at my waist, fingers spread over the fabric, keeping me pinned safely against the door.
"You really hate taking orders," he murmured.
"I hate taking yours."
"Why?"
"Because you keep being right."
His breath caught.
Mine did too.
The vault seal flared beneath our joined hands.
A lock clicked somewhere inside the door.
Celeste screamed, "No!"
The monster struck again.
This time I moved first.
I shoved Julian aside and stepped into the path of the white blade.
The beam cut across my coat and burned a line along my shoulder. Pain snapped through me. I fired the gun at the creature's mask.
The special bullet struck dead center.
Blue fire swallowed the monster's head.
It reeled back, howling.
Julian grabbed my arm and dragged me down as another blast tore through the door above us.
"You stepped in front of me," he said.
"You were in my way."
"You stepped in front of me."
"Say it again and I'll shoot you myself."
"You'd miss."
"I'm standing right here."
He looked at the blood running down my shoulder. His face went hard.
"You're hurt."
"It's a scratch."
"It's burning through the coat."
"Then stop staring and open the door."
His fingers brushed the edge of the wound, careful and quick. The touch lasted less than a second.
It still sent heat down my arm.
He noticed.
Of course he noticed.
His thumb paused against my skin.
"Mara."
"Don't."
"I wasn't going to say anything."
"Your face was."
"My face says a lot."
"Your face says you're about to make another terrible decision."
"That's usually your job."
The vault seal flashed again.
"Heartbeat required," the voice said. "Knox bloodline confirmed."
I turned toward him. "Bloodline?"
His expression shut down.
"Julian."
"Not now."
"It just named your bloodline."
"The door is reacting to old records."
"You said you didn't know this place."
"I said I didn't know what was behind it."
"That's not the same thing."
"No. It isn't."
That answer landed harder than a denial.
I caught his shirt and pulled him close. "What did your father use this vault for?"
The question hit him. I saw it in the tight pull of his mouth.
"Don't bring him into this."
"He was already in it. My mother knew your family. The lock knows your blood. The door knows my name. Start talking."
"Your mother told you I killed her."
"She told me to find the truth."
"And you decided the truth was simple. Knox killed Vale."
"You were the only Knox standing in front of me."
"So you put a knife to my throat."
"You put a gun in my hand and told me to kill Celeste."
"Because she is the one controlling the vault."
"You keep saying that like it clears you."
"It doesn't."
The honesty stopped me.
His hand slid around my wrist again. His thumb rested against my pulse, right beneath the blue lock.
"But I didn't kill your mother," he said.
The monster tore free of the blue fire.
Its mask split open.
Celeste's voice came from inside the crack. "He doesn't know who did."
I looked past Julian. "You said you knew."
"I know enough to keep you alive."
"That isn't an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting until that door opens."
"Then open it."
He pressed his bleeding palm harder into the seal.
I pressed mine beside it.
The vault groaned.
Deep bolts began sliding back, one after another.
The chamber floor split beneath the monster. Celeste shrieked and clawed at the tiles as a red glow rose from the gap.
Julian pulled me against his side.
"Whatever happens," he said, "don't listen to the voice inside."
"You know there will be a voice?"
"I know this door was built to call something home."
"Something like you?"
"Something like you."
The final bolt slammed loose.
The vault door cracked open.
A woman's voice slipped through the gap, soft and close, like she was standing on the other side with her mouth against the metal.
"Welcome home, Mara—"