Chapter 40 · Let the Sky Remember Us

The ninth heartbeat rolled through the cloud sea.

Veyra lurched.

Lio hit one knee on the black stone platform, the brass package clutched against her chest. The iron cylinder inside it answered with a violent thud. For one impossible second, the whole city seemed to breathe around her. Bridges groaned. Towers leaned toward the open wound beneath the platform. Far below, the awakened eye turned in the dark, its pupil wide enough to swallow a district.

Then the retrieval agents opened fire.

Blue lances tore across the chamber.

Cael moved before Lio could think. He threw himself between her and the first volley, one hand snapping up. The broken remains of his council badge flared in his palm, its severed chain spitting white sparks. The nearest lance struck the invisible barrier and exploded into a storm of glassy light.

Cael staggered.

Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

Lio caught his shoulder. His coat was wet with blood already, the fabric torn beneath his ribs. "You are going to die if you keep doing that."

"You noticed?" His smile was thin and breathless. "I was worried the dramatic entrance had distracted you.