Chapter 27 · The Throne Under the Palace

The door behind me isn't a door.

It's a hole in the stone wall where stone shouldn't break. Black water pours out of it, colder than the river flooding the dungeon, and it smells like rust and old graves.

Nia's fingers dig into my arm. "That one," she whispers. "Mom said never."

I spin back toward Ronan. He's standing over the bodies of Drake's wolves, chest heaving, eyes full gold now. No brown left. The beast is winning.

"Ronan—"

He snarls. Not at me. At Drake.

Drake's backed up against the far wall, hands still glowing with that sick green light. The water's up to my ribs now. Nia's shaking so hard I can barely hold her.

"You opened it," Drake says. He's staring at the hole behind me like it's the only thing in the room. "You actually opened it."

"I didn't—" But I did. I kissed Ronan, I pulled the core back into my chest, and something answered. Something that knows my blood.

The core's burning me from the inside out. I can feel it trying to dig deeper, past my heart, down into whatever Mom locked away when she ran.

Ronan takes a step toward Drake.