Chapter 24 · The Second Tower

"You're not going down there."

Mina stepped into Jace's path before he could reach the stairwell. The opening had split across the back wall, its edges smooth as cut glass. Copper dust drifted from the broken wards, and hot metal stung the back of his throat.

Jace kept his eyes on the master line pulsing through his vision. It ran down the center of the tower and vanished beneath the stairs.

"Wasn't asking permission."

"Good. Saves me saying no twice."

She put a palm against his chest. Heat pushed through his shirt. Her fingers curled into the fabric when he tried to move past her.

"Gideon wants you down there," she said. "That's the point. He can't open level seven without a line breaker, and you're the only one left."

"So what's your plan? We sit here until he knocks?"

"We collapse the entrance."

"And bury whatever's below us?"

"Better buried than in Gideon's hands."

Jace glanced over her shoulder. The air above the stairwell shimmered where the ward had been. No dust had settled inside the opening. No sound came from below, not even an echo.

The master line pulsed again.

"Theo sent word an hour ago," Jace said.