Chapter 17 · The Gatekeeper's Name

"Don't you dare say it."

Mina was on her knees with one palm braced against the wall. The passage behind her was closing around her arm, stone rippling like a throat trying to swallow. Blood ran from her nose to her upper lip.

Her other hand reached for me. "Say what?"

"That you're sorry. That you didn't know. Pick an excuse. Just don't waste my time with one."

"Jace, listen—"

"No."

The wall pinched shut behind her. She yanked her arm free and staggered toward me. I stepped back, but the core's pull tightened around my ribs. It felt like a fishhook buried under my breastbone.

Below us, the pit pulsed with gold light.

Mina wiped her nose with her sleeve. "You don't understand what you are."

"Then tell me. Now. No more scraps. No more 'you're not ready.'"

"You're going to hate the answer."

"I'm already standing over a hole that wants to eat me. Try me."

She glanced at the core, then back at me. Her mouth tightened before she spoke.

"Your name wasn't always Jace Cheng."

I gave her a hard laugh. "Yeah. I got that much."

"It was Kael Siran.