Chapter 24 · Hand Him Over

The face in the doorway doesn't move. It just watches me with my mother's eyes.

I can't breathe. Can't think. The silver light from my arm flickers, and the moment it does, the thing behind the door leans forward. Not all the way out. Just enough that I see the edges of its smile stretch too wide.

"Mara." Ronan's voice cuts through the ringing in my ears. "Step back."

I don't. I can't. Because that's her face. Her exact face. The one I used to see every morning before she died. Before someone ripped her apart and left her blood on stone.

The hand on the edge of the door flexes. Pale fingers. No ring. My mother wore a silver band on her left hand, always. This thing doesn't have it.

"That's not her," I say. My voice comes out flat.

"I know." Ronan's on his feet now, one hand pressed to his ribs. The red glow under his skin is still there, dimmer but not gone. "Whatever you just opened, we need to close it. Now."

I look down at my arm. The scar's still split open, and the moonmark underneath pulses with silver light.