Chapter 16 · The Core

"They're awake." Mina's voice cut through the hum. "All of them. At once."

Jace spun toward the warehouse floor. Eight children lay between the glowing lines, eyes open and fixed on nothing. Their chests rose together. In. Out. In. Out.

The lines around them pulsed like veins feeding one enormous heart. Then every child inhaled at the same time—and the hook in Jace's chest yanked him toward the dark beneath Copperfall.

"That's not normal," he said.

"Congratulations. You found the obvious part." Mina dropped beside the nearest girl and pressed two fingers to her wrist. "Pulse is steady. Pupils respond. She doesn't."

"Where is she?"

"Not here." Mina stood and wiped her hand on her jacket. "The seal dragged her mind somewhere else."

Jace looked at the girl again. She couldn't have been older than ten. A purple barrette held back her hair. Her eyes tracked nothing.

"The tower did this?"

"The tower started it. The core is finishing it." Mina pointed toward the lines. "If we don't break the link, those kids won't be breathing by morning."

The pull in Jace's ribs tightened.