Chapter 36 · The Heart Key

"Don't you dare step through that gate without me." Kane slammed his hand against the stone beside my head. The core door shuddered under his palm, and a thin line of red light crawled across the lock. "Jessa, move."

"You first." I shoved his arm away. "You're bleeding through your armor. You're shaking. And you want me to believe you're the one who gets to decide who dies?"

His jaw tightened. A strand of dark hair stuck to his forehead. Blood ran from the cut above his eyebrow and disappeared under his collar.

"This isn't a debate."

"Good. Then stop talking like you own the room."

The dungeon answered with a deep, ugly thump.

Dust dropped from the ceiling. Behind us, something scraped its claws across the stone floor. Not one thing. A whole pack. The sound kept coming, getting closer with every breath.

Kane grabbed my wrist.

His glove was warm. Too warm. His grip locked around me like iron, but he didn't squeeze hard enough to hurt. That almost made it worse.

"You have three minutes before the seal closes," he said. "The core gate only opens for a living anchor."

"I know what the gate needs.