Chapter 12 · What Your Blood Is Worth

The blood on his hands was still sticky when Cassian shoved a glass of something clear into his grip. Lucan didn't drink it. He just stared at the red smears on his knuckles, the kind that didn't wash off easy because they'd already soaked into the creases. Mira stood three feet away, arms crossed, jaw tight. She hadn't said a word since they dragged themselves out of the rift chamber.

"You need to drink that," Cassian said. His voice was flat. "Your core's torn in two places. You keep pulling power through holes, you're going to bleed out from the inside."

Lucan set the glass down. "How long before the next gate opens?"

Cassian's expression didn't shift. "Four days. Maybe three if the bell sequence accelerates. Why?"

"Because I need to be gone before then."

Mira's head snapped up. "Gone where?"

He met her eyes. "Back."

The silence that followed had weight. Cassian glanced between them, then picked up a rag and started cleaning his tools. Smart man. Mira took a step closer. Then another.