Chapter 16 · Hollowborn - Chapter 16: The Anchor Kneels

The eye blinks.

I'm still falling—no, I hit ground already, knees first, and my palms are flat against stone that's way too warm. The impact rattles up through my bones but I can't look away from the thing in the center of the floor.

It's not painted. Not carved. It's *open*.

The pupil contracts when I try to stand, like it's focusing, and my legs just stop working. Cole's hand is still locked around my wrist but he's on his knees too, breathing hard, and the burn across his throat is glowing so bright I can see the edges of his veins.

"Don't move," he says. His voice sounds like it's coming through water.

I wasn't planning on it. The eye's bigger than both of us, iris scratched with symbols that won't hold still, and the longer I stare the more I feel like something's staring back from underneath my ribs.

The twelve pillars around us are burning steady now. Real fire, not the half-there flicker from the dream. Each one's got a name gouged into the stone—some I recognize from mom's list, some I don't—and they're all *screaming*. Not out loud. Inside my skull.