Chapter 43 · The Gate's Hidden Truth

"Mara, take your hand off the mark!" Cassian shouted.

"I'm trying!"

I wasn't.

My palm was welded to the black lines carved into the gate floor. Blood slipped between my fingers and vanished into the metal. The mark drank it down, pulling so hard my knees buckled.

Behind me, my sister screamed.

"Cassian! The gate is opening!"

"I can see that, Cyrus. Get her out."

"She's stuck!"

The floor split with a crack that rattled my teeth. Freezing water blasted through the seam and swallowed my boots.

I yanked at my hand.

The mark clamped down harder.

"Mara, look at me." Cassian's voice cut through the alarms. "Don't fight the pull."

"That's your advice?" I snapped. "The city's about to drown, and you want me to relax?"

He shoved through the rising water, one hand gripping the rail, the other wrapped around his command blade. His coat dragged behind him, soaked and heavy. Water ran from his hair into his eyes, but he never looked away from me.

"I want you breathing when I get to you."

"You rejected me in front of half the harbor. You don't get to tell me what to do now.