Chapter 30 · The Body Beneath the Throne

The Black Seal gate clamped around Lucan’s arm before I could reach him.

“Lucan!”

He slammed his free hand against the iron-black stone. The gate answered with a crack of blue fire, and his knees hit the floor.

His coat smoked. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

“Don’t touch me,” he snapped.

“Fine.” I grabbed the back of his coat anyway. “Then stop making me drag you out by force.”

“Nora, move.”

“Not without you.”

The gate pulled him another inch into its carved opening. His fingers scraped over the floor, nails splitting against the black stone. Behind him, the council vault shook. Dust dropped from the ceiling. Somewhere above us, boots hammered across the old throne hall.

The arrest squad had found the entrance.

Lucan looked over his shoulder. His gray eyes caught mine, sharp and furious.

“If they catch us down here, you go back to the execution block,” he said. “They’ll call this proof you helped me break into the city core.”

“And you?”

“They’ll hang me beside you.”

“Then pull harder.”

His jaw tightened. “You think this is funny?”

“No. I think you’re very dramatic for a man who won’t let me save him.”