Chapter 37 · No More Rounds

"Let go of him!" I slammed both hands against the black ribs wrapped around Kane's chest. "You already took enough. You don't get to take him too."

The dungeon answered by tightening.

Kane's body jerked between the curved stone bars. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth and disappeared under the dark plates crawling over his armor. His hand caught my wrist before I could strike again.

"Jessa." His voice came out rough. "Stop."

"Don't tell me to stop." I twisted against his grip. "You did that last time. You chose the heroic death. It was annoying."

His fingers tightened. Warm. Shaking.

"If you break the anchor, it kills you."

"Then I'll break it carefully."

"That isn't a thing."

"It is if I say it is."

The black ribs flexed. Kane's shoulders hit the wall behind him with a hard crack. His eyes found mine through the gaps, gray and sharp even while pain pulled his face tight.

"You have thirty seconds," he said.

"For what?"

"Before the Maw seals this chamber."

A deep thump rolled through the floor.

The core sat behind Kane, half buried in the wall.