Chapter 12 · Make the City Remember My Name

The first breath came from beneath the city.

It rolled through the throne room like thunder trapped inside a coffin. Dust spilled from the vaulted ceiling. The seven iron braziers along the walls flared blue, then guttered low, their flames bending toward the floor as if the whole chamber had begun to inhale.

Lio Wren staggered away from the empty socket in the throne.

The second seal hovered behind layers of black crystal, no larger than a coin, burning with a dull red light. She had reached for it. The throne had answered by throwing her across the chamber and naming her executioner.

Not investigator. Not victim.

Jailer.

Her shoulder still throbbed from the impact. She pressed one hand against it and tasted blood where her teeth had cut the inside of her cheek.

"That wasn't the beast," Mara said.

She stood near the doorway with a broken length of pipe gripped in both hands. Dust silvered her dark hair. Behind her, the corridor lights flickered in time with the breathing below.

Cael leaned against the stone wall, one arm clamped over the wound beneath his ribs. His coat had gone black with blood.