Chapter 19 · The Inspector's Second Heart

The eye beneath the black water opened without a ripple.

It was larger than Mara's wagon, larger than the entire mural carved into the tunnel wall. A pale, lidless thing stared through the surface, its iris turning slowly, searching the dark for a shape it already knew.

Cael's breath caught.

Then the third seal inside his chest answered.

A ring of black light burst beneath his skin.

He folded with a strangled sound, one hand clamping over his heart. The other caught the edge of the stone ledge before his knees hit the ground.

"Cael!"

Lio dropped beside him. Cold water soaked through her trousers as she seized his shoulder. Beneath her palm, something beat against his ribs—not his heart, but a second pulse, heavy and ancient.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The black pool shuddered in time with it.

Mara raised her pistol with both hands. Blood from the cut along her temple ran down her cheek and dripped from her chin.

"Tell me that thing can't climb out," she said.

Oro's voice rolled through Lio's bones, usually arrogant and amused. Now it was low and tight.

It cannot climb out.

Lio looked at the water.