Chapter 26 · No Crown, Just Chains

The girl kneels in front of me.

Blindfold tight. Wrists bleeding. She's shaking so hard I can hear her teeth chatter.

She calls me master.

I want to throw up.

"Good," Eli says behind me. He sounds pleased. Like I just passed some kind of test. "You see? The bond responds to intent. She came because you wanted her to. Try another."

I don't move.

The girl's still kneeling. Waiting. Blood drips from her wrists onto the stone floor and the moment it touches the carved lines the whole network hums. I feel it in my teeth. In my bones. The mark on my shoulder burns hot and I know—I know—that if I wanted to I could pull on that hum and drag someone else up here. Someone else bleeding and broken and calling me master.

I look at Eli.

"No."

His smile doesn't move but something behind his eyes goes sharp.

"Amy," he says. Gentle. Patient. The way you talk to a dog that won't sit. "You're stalling."

"Yeah. I am."

I don't look away.

He sighs. Steps closer. The girl between us flinches at the sound of his footsteps but she doesn't move. Doesn't lift her head.