Chapter 17 · One Night Left

The bond snaps tight like a wire about to break.

I'm on my knees in the Gate chamber. Mara's hand is on my shoulder but I can't feel it. All I feel is Silas—pain spiking through his ribs, cold metal at his wrists, something dragging him backward through stone.

"Ivy." Mara's voice cuts through. "Ivy, look at me."

I force my eyes open. The Gate's closed. The wound in reality sealed shut. But the cost—

"He's still alive," I say. My voice sounds like gravel. "I can feel him."

"Then we move now." Mara pulls me to my feet. "You've got maybe twenty hours left on that contract. Less if whoever took him knows how to break a bond early."

Grayson's still standing by the collapsed archway. His guards are scattered. Half of them look ready to bolt. The other half are staring at me like I just grew a second head.

"Ward." I don't shout. I don't have the energy. But my voice carries. "Your man took Silas. Where's the tunnel lead?"

Grayson turns. His face is blank. Too blank. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit." I take a step toward him. The bond pulls tighter.