Chapter 27 · The Brass Oath - Chapter 27: The Brass Oath

"Mara, get down!" Cain hit the oath-line with both hands, but the brass circle tore him sideways before he reached her.

The pull snapped through my chest. My boots left the floor. Cain slammed into the opposite ring hard enough to crack the stone beneath his shoulder.

Every cannon in the core vault turned toward me.

"Don't you dare fire," I shouted.

The energy core answered with a deep metal pulse. Blue-white light crawled over its cage, then spilled across the floor in sharp lines. The lines climbed my boots, my legs, my ribs. They stopped at the burning sigil in my chest.

PRIMARY BLOODLINE CONFIRMED.

The words flashed above the core in old brass letters.

Cain shoved himself upright. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. "Mara, listen to me. That thing isn't waiting for permission."

"I noticed."

"Break the circle."

"The oath won't let me leave."

"Then break the oath."

I laughed once. It came out thin and ugly. "Great plan. Got another one that doesn't involve tearing my heart out?"

The nearest cannon clicked open.

Cain's face changed. Not fear. He didn't waste fear where I could see it.