Chapter 38 · The Memory Line

"Cut me loose, Ronan!" I slammed both hands against the silver bands biting into my wrists. "The gate's taking me!"

"I know."

Ronan dropped beside the cracked core, one knee hitting the grating. Black tidewater soaked through his coat and spread around his boots.

The force beneath the floor dragged me toward the split stone. My boots scraped uselessly over the metal.

Three feet away, Celia crushed the proof chip in her fist. "If I leave now, the Council will bury this."

"Then don't leave." I yanked against the bands. "Broadcast it."

Her eyes snapped to Ronan. "He has to authorize the city network."

"He has two minutes before the gate seals around her," Ronan said.

"And you have one minute before the core takes your name too."

His jaw tightened. "Celia. Take the chip. Get to the central relay. Put it on every screen in Briarport."

"What are you going to do?"

He pulled a narrow blade from his belt. Its edge burned white against the black water.

I knew that look.

"No."

"Mara—"

"Don't you dare say my name like that and then do something stupid." The band around my left wrist cinched tighter.