Chapter 16 · The Gate Inside Me

"Don't touch the seal again!" Ronan snapped. "Mara, get your hand out of the well. Now."

"Then stop standing there and tell me what to do!"

The stone under my palm pulsed hard enough to slam my shoulder back. Blue light crawled up my wrist in thin, burning lines.

The seventh gate wasn't a door under the city anymore.

It was inside me.

Ronan grabbed my arm and hauled me away from the control well. His fingers locked around my wrist, hot against the cold fire chewing through my skin.

"You heard me," he said. "Move."

"I am moving. You're the one holding me."

His jaw clenched. "Because the gate is feeding on you."

"Yeah. I noticed."

The chamber bucked.

Dust rained from the iron ribs overhead. Beyond the walls, water slammed through the lower channels, faster and harder. The impact shook through my boots and up into my bones.

Ronan dragged me against his chest and turned me away from the well. His coat scraped my cheek.