Chapter 10 · Voidbound - Chapter 10: The Mark That Hunts

"Stand down, Vance." Thale's voice cut through the stale air of the tunnel, calm and cold as ever. "You know how this ends."

Mira didn't lower her gun. "Yeah. With you explaining to the Council why you shot one of your own."

"Harboring a Voidbound isn't 'one of your own.'" Thale's team fanned out behind him, rifles trained on both of us. Six barrels. Maybe seven. Hard to count when the second heartbeat in my chest was drowning out everything else. "Step away from the target, Inspector. Last chance."

I couldn't feel my legs. The hatchling—the first one—was coiled somewhere deep in my ribs, humming like a live wire. The second one, the thing that had just latched on, was different. It wasn't begging. It wasn't whispering.

It was waiting.

"Kael." Mira's voice was low, steady. She didn't look at me. "When I move, you run. Straight through the left passage. Don't stop."

"You're insane," I said.

"Probably." She shifted her weight, and I saw her thumb flick the safety off. "But you're still breathing, so I'm doing something right."

Thale sighed. "Disappointing, Vance. I thought you were smarter than this."

"Smart enough to read the files you buried.