Chapter 27 · We need to move

He looked at me, jaw tight. "We need to move."

He took one step.

Pain shot up my leg.

His next step drove a bolt through my spine.

By the third, he was breathing through his teeth.

I grabbed his sleeve. "Stop walking."

"If the water reaches the lower gates—"

"Stop."

He did.

For one sharp second, the only sound was the distant grind of machinery and both of us fighting to breathe.

Then I looked at the blood soaking through his shirt.

"What happens if I cut the covenant?"

His eyes hardened. "The lock tears through both of us."

"What happens if you cut it?"

Silence.

I seized the front of his coat and pulled him down until our faces were inches apart.

"Tell me."

"I break the moon mark."

"And?"

"The pain link drops. For a few minutes."

"That's not what I asked."

His breath warmed my lips. His hand came up, hovering near my waist without touching me.

Even now, he was asking permission.

That almost made it worse.

He looked toward the tunnel mouth. Red light flashed across the wet stone behind him.

"It may not grow back," he said.

My grip loosened.