Chapter 11 · Sparkbound - Chapter 11: The Last Door

"Don't touch that door." Milo's warning cracked through the chamber as Wren reached for the final control line.

The glowing band around his wrist tightened. He jerked against it, face pinched white.

"Then tell me what it does," Wren snapped.

"It opens for you."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have!"

The last spark-line twisted around Draven's arm and drove into his chest. He hit one knee. Black veins crawled up his throat beneath his skin, pulsing with every beat of the damaged bond.

Wren spun toward him. "Draven."

"Don't stop." His voice came out rough. "If you stop now, the line snaps back into the kids."

"You're already dying."

"Not yet."

"You call that not yet?" She pointed at the dark streaks climbing his neck. "Your skin is turning black. Your hand is shaking. You can barely breathe."

He planted his palm on the floor and forced himself upright. "Then keep me standing."

The chamber shook. Three metal beds ringed the room, each one holding a child beneath a cage of blue current. Milo's little sister, Tessa, screamed behind the nearest barrier.