Chapter 22 · Don't Trust the Badge

Mira's hand was still on my wrist when the first shout came from the alley mouth.

"Guard patrol, east perimeter. Two minutes out."

I yanked free. "We need to move. Now."

Juno was slumped against the wall, face gray, one hand pressed to her side where Drake's blood rune had tried to cook her from the inside. The black core in my chest was still humming, warm and satisfied like it had just eaten a five-course meal. It had ripped Drake's kill mark right out of her skin and I still didn't know if that made me useful or damned.

Mira didn't flinch. "I'll carry her. You stay behind me."

"Behind you?" I stared. "Your squad's coming. The second they see me, I'm dead."

"Not if I tell them you're in custody."

"Right. Because that worked so well last time."

Her jaw tightened. She crouched next to Juno, sliding one arm under her shoulders. Juno groaned but didn't fight it. "Kade. I'm not letting you run into the tower alone with a half-burned map and a death wish. And I'm not leaving Juno to bleed out because you don't trust me."

"I don't." The words came out flat.