Chapter 23 · The Lock My Brother Left

Julian hit the floor before Mara could catch him.

His shoulder slammed into the cracked marble, and the black mark on his chest gave one hard pulse. Not a glow. Not magic spilling out. A pulse. Like a second heart had woken up under his ribs.

“Julian!” Mara dropped beside him and grabbed his coat. “Hey. Look at me.”

His eyes opened, but they weren’t focused. His breath came thin and fast. Every time that black mark beat, Mara’s own chest clenched with it.

One-two.

Pain snapped through her ribs.

One-two.

Julian twisted, teeth grinding. “Don’t—touch it.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t planning to hug the death symbol.” She shoved one hand beneath his neck. “Nia, stop pulling!”

Nia’s fingers were still wrapped around the iron lever.

The lever had moved another inch.

Her whole body shook against it. Her boots scraped over the courthouse floor, but the contract wound around her wrists kept dragging her forward. Thin red lines crawled up her arms, tightening every time she fought.

“I’m trying!” Nia shouted. “My hands don’t belong to me right now!”

Mara looked past her.

The destruction switch hung over the city map, almost at the bottom.