Chapter 13 · The Name It Took

"Don't you dare go in there."

Mina's hand clamped around my wrist before my fingers touched the tower door. Her grip bit hard enough to bruise. Her pulse jumped against my skin.

"Your brother's inside," I said.

"So is everything else."

I twisted free. The lines beneath my ribs burned like hot wire, and the tower answered with a low vibration through the soles of my boots.

Mina stepped between me and the door. "You open it, you don't get to choose what walks out."

"Then come with me."

Her mouth tightened. "I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"The seal reads me as a breach the second I cross. It won't just lock me out. It'll bring the whole damn tower down."

"Convenient."

"Call me a liar after we get my brother back."

She reached inside her coat and pulled out a narrow blade. The metal flashed under the tower's sickly glow. She shoved it into my hand, then closed my fingers around the handle.

"You'll need to bleed."

I looked at the knife. "That your professional advice?"

"It's the only advice keeping you alive."

She moved closer.