Chapter 52 · The Price of Defiance

The metal clamp bit into my wrist, and the control console screamed my name through the chamber.

"Mara, pull your hand back!"

Ronan's voice came from the speakers, the walls, and his own mouth.

Three voices.

Only one of them was real.

I twisted against the seal. Blood slid across my palm and disappeared into the silver grooves cut beneath my skin.

"You think I haven't tried?" I snapped. "Get me out of this thing!"

Ronan slammed both hands against the black glass beside the console. The impact rattled my teeth, but the lock didn't move.

Black water swirled around his boots. It climbed over his ankles, cold and fast.

The fake Keeper smiled with Ronan's mouth.

"Let the gate open," it said. "Your blood belongs to the city. Your life is a small price."

"Shut the hell up!" Ronan's real voice cut through the chamber.

His head jerked to the side. His jaw clenched hard enough to show the muscle beneath his skin.

"Mara, listen to me. The council built a death order into the seal.