Chapter 23 · Carved Into Bone

"Don't touch the center rune, Milo!" Lena shouted.

Too late.

My fingers were already on the black gear buried in the floor. The metal kicked under my palm. Heat punched through my glove, then through my skin. Sigils flashed across the chamber walls, bright enough to burn white spots into my vision.

The dead engine screamed.

Not loud. Not like metal breaking. It screamed inside my teeth.

"Get your hand off it!" Lena grabbed the back of my coat and hauled me away.

The gear held on.

A strip of red light crawled from the core, wrapped around my wrist, and tightened. My knees slammed into the stone.

"It won't let go," I said.

"Then cut your hand loose."

"Great plan. You first."

She shoved her shoulder under my arm and tried to pull me back. Her coat scraped against mine. Her breath hit my cheek, hot and sharp, while the core dragged both of us toward the open pit beneath it.

Something moved inside the gear.

A hand pressed against the glass.

Bram's hand.

I stopped fighting.

The fingers were thick, scarred, and missing the tip of the left pinky.