Chapter 12 · The Wedding Goes Public

Nora's knees hit the platform before she realized the floor had moved.

One second, she was facing the thing wearing her mother's face. The next, white light slammed through the tunnel, the rails screamed, and a dozen cameras rose from behind the broken seal like guns.

Someone shouted, "She's got a weapon!"

Nora looked down at her hands. Blue-gold fire crawled over her fingers.

"Nora." Caden's voice came from behind her, rough and tight. "Drop it. Now."

"You first. Tell me where Milo is."

The cameras zoomed in.

She could see herself on the nearest screen: ash in her hair, blood on her cheek, one hand burning bright enough to turn the tunnel walls blue. Beside her stood Caden, coat torn open, shirt soaked dark under his ribs. His burned hands were raised toward her, not in surrender.

Like he was trying to contain her.

Like he had done this before.

The woman with Nora's mother's face smiled from inside the crack.

"There she is," she said. "The little match finally learned how to burn."

Then the crack snapped shut.

The fire vanished from Nora's hands.