Chapter 19 · Sparkbound - Chapter 19: The Hunter's Choice

"Don't touch the core." Draven caught my wrist before my fingers reached the black metal housing.

His grip locked around me. Heat pushed through the tether between our cuffs, sharp enough to make my teeth clench.

"Then stop dragging me toward it," I snapped. "You said we had one chance. This is your chance."

"This is a trap."

"Everything in this place is a trap. At least this one is glowing."

The spark core pulsed inside its iron frame. Blue-white light leaked through the cracks, beating in time with the ring of metal around our wrists. Every pulse made Draven's arm jerk.

The dark lines of rot had climbed from his hand to his throat. They twisted under his skin like ink in water.

He shoved me behind him.

I slammed into his back. "Move."

"Stay there."

"You don't get to put me behind you and call it a plan."

"I do when the thing in front of us can kill you."

The machine answered with a low boom. Chains hanging from the ceiling snapped tight. A ring of metal arms unfolded around the core, each one tipped with a needle-thin crystal.

Draven drew his blade with his free hand.