Chapter 23 · She Was Never the Key

Ronan's screaming stops.

I'm on my knees next to him before I can think. His face is slack. The red light under his skin isn't moving anymore. It's just there, bright and still, like something pressed under glass.

"Ronan." I shake his shoulder. Nothing. "Ronan, wake up."

His chest rises. Falls. That's it.

I press my palm against his sternum. The contract pulls hard enough to make my ribs ache. It's still there. He's still there. But the light isn't fading. It's settling.

The door stays locked. No window. No other way out. Just stone walls and the smell of old blood baked into the floor.

I sit back on my heels and try to think.

Silas said hours. He said the seal would finish and Ronan would be stuck like this. Locked into whatever they need him to be. A key. A lock. A thing.

Mom's ring is still on the floor where Silas dropped it. The blood hasn't dried yet.

I pick it up. It's heavier than I remember. The band is warm.

She wore this every day. Even after Dad left. Even after the council stripped her of her seat.