Chapter 26 · Mom Didn't Die in That Fire

Kade's boots hit stone and he nearly went down. The tunnel behind them was still glowing with that one word—RIVEN—and he didn't know if it was a promise or a trap.

Mira caught his elbow. Her grip was tight, her breathing still uneven from the fight. "We need to move."

"That rune—"

"I saw it." She let go and turned, scanning the passage ahead. Her blade was still out, still dark with blood from her own squad. She'd cut down two guards to get him out. No going back from that. "Someone lit it for you. Question is who."

Kade pressed a hand to his chest. The black core hummed under his ribs, warm and hungry. It had eaten the ward charge they'd tried to pin on him, and now it wanted more. Every time the city tried to kill him, he got stronger. Brutal math. He still didn't know if it was a gift or a curse.

They moved fast, keeping to the older tunnels where the overhead runes had gone dim. Mira knew the layout better than he did—she'd been patrolling these routes for years.