Chapter 25 · Mara Remembers His Body

Cass woke up on stone.

Not his bed. Not the exam hall floor. Cold, gritty stone that smelled like rust and old smoke, and his ribs hurt like someone had kicked them in. He tried to sit up and his vision went white at the edges.

"Don't move."

Mara's voice. Close. He blinked until the blur turned into her face, pale and tight, bent over him with one hand pressed flat against his chest. Her fingers were shaking.

"What—" His throat felt like he'd swallowed glass.

"You went through the door." Her voice was flat, but her hand didn't move. "You shouldn't have gone through the door."

He remembered now. The stone door under the tower. His mother's voice. The pull like a fishhook in his sternum, dragging him forward, and Mara yelling something behind him, and then—

Nothing.

"How long was I out?"

"Three minutes." She pulled her hand back, finally, and wiped it on her pants like she'd touched something dirty. "Your heart stopped for two of them."

Cass stared at her. "What?"

"I felt it stop." Mara's jaw was locked so tight he could see the muscle jump. "I pulled you back through and it just—stopped.