Chapter 34 · The Core Picks Her

"Do not touch that blade." Kael caught my wrist before my fingers closed around the black handle.

The Core chamber shook hard enough to throw sparks from the ceiling. Red light crawled across the walls. Behind us, the sealed doors groaned while Oren's execution guards hammered at them from the other side.

I twisted against Kael's grip. "Then get your hand off me."

"You pick it up, it picks you."

"That's funny. It already picked me."

The black Core pulsed beneath the glass floor. Every pulse punched through my bones and answered from the shackle at my throat. My knees nearly buckled.

Kael pulled me against him before I hit the floor. His arm locked around my waist. His chest pressed to my back, solid and hot through two layers of torn fabric.

"Stay on your feet," he said near my ear.

"Stop ordering me around."

"You want to argue, fine. Do it while breathing."

Another pulse hit.

My vision flashed white. The Core showed me a city burning in pieces—tower windows bursting, streets full of running people, black light pouring through every crack. Then the image snapped away.

I dug my nails into Kael's forearm. "It wants the city."