Chapter 27 · The Way Out Burns

"He's gone." Kane's voice cut through the stale lab air before I even saw him. He stepped out of the shadow near Eli's cell, blood smeared across his jaw, eyes still riding that edge between human and something else.

I stopped three feet from him. "What do you mean gone?"

"I mean your brother walked out of that cell on his own two feet, and the blood trail leads straight to the core." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Didn't help. "Marcus knew we'd come down here. This whole thing's a setup."

Nora was behind me, breathing hard from the run. "The core? That's the grid heart. If Eli's bleeding that much—"

"He's not bleeding out," Kane said. "He's following something. Or being pulled." His eyes locked on mine. "Your mother's recording mentioned the core. What else did she say?"

I swallowed. My wrist was burning again, that same sick heat that flared every time Kane got too close or too angry. "She said the mark was a failsafe. That if the bloodline woke up, the city would—"

"Would what?"

"She didn't finish. The tape cut."

Kane took a step closer. I didn't move.