Chapter 29 · Heartbeats

Evelyn’s heart slammed once.

The whole core room answered.

Blue-white contract lines burst across the black floor, racing under Finn’s body, under Nolan’s boots, up the stone walls. Every light in the chamber blew out at the same time.

Then the core beat again.

Evelyn doubled over with a sharp gasp, both hands pressed to her chest.

“No.” Nolan caught her before she hit the floor. His arm shook around her waist. Black fire still crawled under his skin, thin and ugly beneath the veins in his neck. “No, no, no. Get off it. Evelyn, take your hand off.”

“I did.” Her voice came out thin. “I already did.”

Her bloody palm had left the core.

That was the problem.

The mark was still there anyway.

A red handprint glowed beneath the glassy black surface. Her handprint. Her blood had sunk into it like the core had opened a mouth and swallowed every drop.

Across the room, Finn coughed hard enough to fold in on himself.

“Finn.