Chapter 48 · The Throne Wakes

"Take the command seal off me, Carson. Now."

His hand stopped an inch from my wrist.

Behind him, the shield core pulsed like a dying heart. Blue cracks raced across the chamber walls. Each flash lit Noah's face through the glass—pale, bruised, and strapped to a metal frame.

"If I remove it, I lose control of the core," Carson said.

"You already lost control. Look at my brother."

The black contract mark around my wrist burned hotter.

Carson had put it there to keep me alive inside the shield. With one command, he could pull me back. He could make my body obey if the core rejected me.

He'd never lied about that part.

"Ivy, listen to me." He stepped over a slab of broken crystal. "The core is opening because it recognizes you. That doesn't mean it'll accept you."

"Then stop talking like my jailer and get me to Noah."

"The throne is behind him."

"I can see it."

A dark shape rose behind Noah's restraints. Metal arms curved upward like claws.