Chapter 21 · The Last Mark

"Get away from the bell. Now." Cade caught Evelyn around the waist and dragged her backward as the black core split open beneath her boots.

She slammed into his chest. His burned execution mark pressed hot against her back through two layers of cloth, and the ring on her wrist snapped tight enough to bite.

"Let go of me." She drove an elbow into his ribs.

"Keep fighting me and the core takes your name."

"Then stop holding me like I am the problem."

"You are standing inside the thing that eats people. Move."

The floor jumped.

Evelyn's heel skidded over a brass plate. A crack raced across the vault, glowing red from underneath. The last bell hung above them, chained to the ceiling, its surface covered in old names. Some had been scratched out. Some had been burned clean away.

Her name sat at the center.

EVELYN MORROW.

The letters were fresh.

"Cade." Her voice dropped. "Why is my name on it?"

He shoved her behind him and drew the short execution blade from his belt. "Because the court planned to use you as the fuel.