Chapter 27 · The Last Lock

The tower smells like blood and rust and something older. Mara's boots hit stone and the door slams shut behind them. No going back now. Not that she was planning to.

Julian stumbles. She catches his elbow and feels how much weight he's lost just standing upright. The mark on his chest is glowing through his shirt now, pulsing in time with her own heartbeat. Nine minutes. Maybe less.

"Mara." His voice cracks. "You don't have to—"

"Shut up." She's already moving, pulling him toward the spiral staircase that winds up into the dark. "Save your breath. You're gonna need it."

The stairs are narrow. Slick with something she doesn't want to think about. Her lockpicks dig into her palm through the pouch on her belt. The hot key's in her other pocket, warming her thigh like a live coal. Every step up makes her chest tighter. Not fear. The bond. The damn life lock sucking her dry one heartbeat at a time.

Julian's breathing is ragged behind her. She doesn't look back. If she looks back she might stop, and stopping means dying on a staircase instead of taking Elias down with her.

"He'll have wards," Julian says.