Chapter 29 · The Chain Is Still Hot

The chain's still hot in my hand.

I'm staring at it like it's supposed to make sense. Like the metal burning through my palm is going to tell me where Karl went. The pit collapsed ten minutes ago. Maybe fifteen. I lost count after the third time I screamed his name into the rubble.

Nothing came back.

Just dust. Just the smell of burned stone and old blood baked into every crack.

I wrap the chain around my wrist. It sears. I don't care. It's the only piece of him I've got left and I'm not letting go.

"Amy."

Marcus is standing five feet away. His jacket's torn. There's blood on his collar but I don't think it's his. He's got that look—the one that says he's already writing the report in his head. Survivor count: one. Casualty: one vampire, presumably crushed.

"Don't," I say.

He stops.

"Don't tell me he's gone. Don't tell me we need to move. Don't."

Marcus exhales through his nose. He crouches down next to me. His voice drops. "The chain wouldn't be warm if he were dead."

I freeze.

"What?"

"Blood magic doesn't linger on corpses," he says.