Chapter 17 · Her Brother in the Core

Elara's legs moved before her brain caught up.

She lunged for the lattice of iron and light holding Cassian, but Kane's arm hooked around her waist and yanked her back hard enough to knock the air out of her lungs.

"Let me go!" She twisted, clawed at his forearm. "That's my brother!"

"I know." Kane's voice was flat. Dead. "That's why Silas brought you here."

Silas stood three feet from the core's outer ring, hands folded behind his back like he was waiting for a transit car. The blue-white light washing off the core made his face look carved from ice.

"Miss Vale." He didn't raise his voice. Didn't need to. The core hummed louder, and Cassian's head lolled forward, mouth opening in a silent gasp. "I'm glad you made it. We don't have much time."

Elara stopped fighting Kane's grip. She stared at Cassian.

He looked like he'd been drained. His skin had that waxy, gray tone she'd seen on bodies pulled from the river. The veins in his arms glowed faintly, traced in the same sickly light that pulsed through the core's framework. His chest rose and fell in perfect sync with the core's rhythm.

Three breaths. Pause.