Chapter 26 · The Final Key

“Take your hand off my brother.”

Tessa drove her palm into the warden’s throat.

He staggered, but his grip stayed locked on Eli’s collar. His other hand pressed against the metal ring around Eli’s chest. Blue lines crawled from the ring into the floor, feeding the tower’s core beneath their boots.

“Cute,” the warden rasped. Blood shone on his lip. “Do that again, and the collar tightens.”

Eli’s face drained of color. “Tess—don’t.”

“Shut up.” She seized the warden’s wrist. “Touch him again, and I’ll break every finger you’ve got.”

The warden smiled. “You’re not in charge here.”

Cael moved.

One second, the warden had Eli. The next, Cael slammed him against a cracked pillar, one hand around his throat.

The blue lines in the floor flashed.

“Let him go,” Cael said.

The warden’s boots scraped stone. “Or what?”

Cael leaned closer. His voice dropped. “Or I stop pretending this tower can hold me.”

Tessa caught his sleeve. “Cael.”

Muscle tightened beneath the fabric. Heat soaked into her palm. Then his pulse struck against hers through the bond—