Chapter 27 · Untitled Chapter

The child's hand tightened around Nora's wrist.

Not hard. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to keep her from pulling away.

The core pulsed around them, wide open now, its broken stone ribs glowing red under the floor. Every light in the city had gone black. No alarms. No emergency lamps. Just the wet scrape of Selene's breathing and Milo yelling somewhere behind Nora.

"Nora, let go!"

She couldn't.

The little hand wore her mother's bracelet. Nora knew every dent in the silver chain. She had held it the night her mother died, back when the fire department had called the blaze an accident and handed Nora a box of half-melted junk. The bracelet had been in that box. She had buried it with the rest.

It was wrapped around a child's wrist now.

"Mom?" Nora whispered.

The thing inside the core tilted its head. Nora couldn't see the face. The opening was full of smoke, sparks, and pieces of old stone turning slowly in the air.

Then it spoke again.

"Witness."

Caden's fingers closed around Nora's other hand. His palm was hot. His grip wasn't. He wasn't forcing her to move.