Chapter 29 · Voice from the Void

“Don’t let go!”

Kane’s hand locked around my wrist so hard my fingers went numb. My other hand clung to the cracked stone lip, nails scraping uselessly against the edge while the floor split wider beneath us.

Below, the dark breathed.

“Wasn’t planning to,” I snapped. “You’re the one bleeding all over me.”

“Then stop looking down.”

“Give me a reason.”

His grip tightened. Hot blood slid from the cut along his ribs and soaked into my sleeve. He was heavy, half his body hanging over the drop, but he still managed to pull me closer instead of climbing first.

That was Kane. Stabbed, exhausted, one bad move from falling into a pit, and still acting like he owned gravity.

A girl’s voice rose from the darkness.

“Little sister.”

My fingers slipped.

Kane jerked me back so fast my shoulder screamed. His chest hit the edge beside my face. I felt his breath brush my cheek, sharp and warm, carrying blood and metal and something colder underneath.

“Don’t answer her,” he said.

“You know that voice.”

“No.”

“Liar.”

His eyes cut toward mine.