Chapter 22 · Sparkbound - Chapter 22: The Spark Cage

"Don't touch the lock, Wren." Draven's hand closed around her wrist before her fingers reached the control panel. His grip was hot through her sleeve, but his voice had gone cold. "That cage is wired to my bond. You open it wrong, and every child inside dies with me."

Wren twisted against him. "Then stop standing there and let me do it right."

"You don't know what right looks like."

"I know what dead kids look like. Move."

The metal cage filled half the Combine holding room. Blue-white current crawled across its bars, snapping every few seconds. Six children huddled inside, packed shoulder to shoulder on the grated floor. The smallest one, a girl with two crooked braids, pressed both hands over her ears.

The machine behind the cage pulsed with Draven's heartbeat.

Each pulse made him jerk.

Wren saw the dark lines climbing his throat and grabbed the front of his coat. "You're getting worse."

"I noticed."

"Your stabilizer is failing."

"I noticed that too."

"And you still have your hand on me instead of fixing it?"

His eyes dropped to her mouth for half a second. Then they came back up, hard and steady.