Chapter 25 · The Baby Drake Took

The silver's burning through my ribs.

I can't breathe. Can't move. The memory core isn't in Nia's hand anymore. It's inside me now, crawling under my skin like molten wire, and every pulse drags another image into my skull. My mother's face. Drake's younger eyes. The baby—me—wrapped in a shawl that smells like smoke and blood.

"Mara!" Nia's screaming my name but her voice sounds a mile away.

I'm on my knees. The stone floor's cold but my chest is on fire. The core's lodged somewhere behind my sternum and it's showing me things I don't want to see. My mother's crying. She's handing me over. Drake's taking me. He's saying something but I can't hear it over the roar in my head.

Somebody grabs my shoulder. Ronan. His claws are out and his eyes are full gold but he's looking at me like I'm the one who's dying.

"What did you do?" His voice is halfway to a growl.

"I didn't—" I choke on the words. The silver flares hotter and another memory slams into me.

My mother's holding my hand. I'm maybe three years old.