Chapter 34 · No More Blood Debt

Mom's still breathing. Barely. Her chest moves in these weird little hitches like her lungs forgot the rhythm.

I'm on my knees next to the cot. My hands are shaking so bad I can't get the bandage roll open. Dax is at the door. He's got Ghost's blood smeared across the iron frame in a pattern I don't recognize. Something hums under the floor. Low. Steady. Like a heartbeat that's not ours.

"Rona." Mom's voice is a rasp. Her eyes are open now. Barely. "Don't let him—"

"I'm not letting anyone do anything." I finally rip the bandage free. Her side is a mess. The wound's old but it's been reopened. Someone cut her. Recently. "Who did this?"

She doesn't answer. Her hand comes up. Grabs my wrist. Her grip is weak but her fingers dig in like she's drowning.

"Listen to me." Her breath smells like blood and something bitter. "The bond. You can't—"

"I already did." I don't know why I say it. Maybe because I'm tired of people telling me what I can't do. "I bonded Ghost. I copied her skill. I know what you were."

Mom's face does something I've never seen before. It cracks.