Chapter 31 · The Last Tooth of the Pact

"He's not breathing."

Theo's voice came from somewhere above me, flat and factual, like he was reading a grocery list. I had Adrian's head in my lap, two fingers pressed to his throat, searching for a pulse that wasn't there.

"Shut up," I said. "Get me the tooth."

"Which tooth?"

"The one he gave you. The pact tooth. Now."

Theo crouched next to me, his coat dragging through the ash that covered the platform. Every breach in the city had slammed shut three minutes ago. The dead zones were gone. The lock chief's entire network had collapsed the second Adrian broke his own key.

And now he was paying for it.

"Mara." Theo's hand hovered over Adrian's chest. "Even if we slot it back in, there's no guarantee—"

"I said get it."

He pulled a small brass tooth from his pocket, the metal warm and faintly glowing. It looked like a molar, except the roots were sharp and the surface was etched with symbols I'd seen in my mother's notes.