Chapter 17 · The Order That Burns

"Don't touch the core."

Cade's hand closed around my wrist before my fingers reached the black glass.

Heat snapped up my arm. Not warmth. Not fire. The ring on my finger tightened until the obsidian edge bit skin.

"Let go."

"You heard me. Step back."

"You don't get to give orders after your seal lit this place up."

His jaw flexed. Behind him, the buried clock vault shuddered. Rust dropped from the ceiling. Somewhere below the iron floor, gears screamed against each other.

Cade dragged me away from the core, one hard step at a time. His coat brushed my knees. His body blocked the vault from view, but the black glow still leaked around his shoulders.

"Your pulse is jumping," he said.

"Your city is about to catch fire. Mine is the least of your problems."

"Evelyn."

"What? Going to execute me again?"

His fingers tightened.

"Don't make me choose."

"You already did. Thirteen times."

The words hit him harder than my struggle had. His grip loosened for half a second.

I ripped free and stumbled toward the central platform.

The core hung above it, suspended by three broken chains.