Chapter 32 · Open the City

The stairs went down forever.

Kade's boots scraped stone. Each step echoed wrong. The black rune in his chest was pulling, dragging him forward like a fish on a line. He could feel the core below. Huge. Hungry. Waiting.

His mother was down there.

Five years.

His hands were shaking. He pressed them flat against the stairwell wall. Cold stone. Real. He needed real.

"Kade."

Mira's voice. Behind him. Close.

He didn't turn around. "Go back."

"No."

"Mira—"

"Shut up and keep walking."

Her footsteps matched his. He could hear her breathing. Steady. Controlled. Everything he wasn't.

The rune flared. Pain spiked through his ribs and he stumbled. Caught himself on the wall. His vision went white at the edges.

"Kade!"

Hands on his shoulders. Mira. Spinning him around.

He couldn't see her face. Just light. The rune was burning through his shirt now. He could smell fabric scorching.

"It's pulling," he said. His voice didn't sound like his. "I can't—"

"Look at me."

He tried. Everything was too bright.

Her hands moved to his face. Palms against his cheeks. Warm. She was so warm. The touch cut through the light and he could see her again. Dark eyes. Focused.