Chapter 31 · Untitled Chapter

"They put the exits in my heart," Mark said.

Daniel's shoulder blade burned so hard his knees nearly buckled. He caught the table instead, fingers crushing the edge.

"Daniel?" Amy grabbed his elbow. "What just happened?"

He forced himself upright. Mark was staring at Lucas. Lucas had both hands raised, but his face had gone gray.

"Don't move," Daniel said. "Nobody moves until I know what that means."

Mark laughed once. It sounded empty. "Three years. Three years I've been walking around with doors in my chest, and you knew?"

"I didn't know about you," Lucas said. "I knew they were building a route system. I didn't know Mark was the anchor."

The burn spread down Daniel's spine. A second point flared at his hip. Then a third at the base of his skull.

He stripped off his jacket and shirt before anyone could stop him.

Amy sucked in a breath. Lucas looked away. Mark didn't blink.

Lines of pale light ran beneath Daniel's scars. One crossed his left shoulder. One curled around his hip. One branched down from his neck. The patterns didn't sit on the wounds. They moved under them, alive and precise.

"What the hell is that?"