Chapter 26 · The Chain's Pull

"Lien. Come in." Cyrus pressed the radio button again. "Lien, answer me."

Static snapped back. Then Kael's hand clamped onto his shoulder.

Not to steady herself. To warn him.

"Cyrus." Her voice was thin and wrong.

He turned. The chain mark on her forearm glowed beneath her torn sleeve, green light pulsing through the black links.

"Kael?"

She didn't answer. Her fingers slipped from his shoulder. She took one step back, then another, while her right hand drifted toward the knife at her belt.

"Shit." Arch swung his rifle up. "Vale, what's happening?"

"I don't know."

"You'd better figure it out fast."

Cyrus saw the mark pulse again. Slow. Even. A second heartbeat under her skin.

Kael's eyes turned south, past him and past Arch, toward the bridge.

Orin swore under his breath. "It's transmitting."

Cyrus looked at him. "What is?"

"The chain. Command marks don't just control a war-bound. They send location, status, biometrics." Orin pointed at Kael's arm. "Someone's pinging it."

Arch's mouth tightened. "Then they know where she is."

"And the kids," Cyrus said. The answer hit before he could stop it. "That's how they found the bridge. Lien must've been tagged when she—