Chapter 11 · Voidbound - Chapter 11: She Hears the Void

"Drop it." Mira's voice cut through the roar of the crowd. "Hands. Now."

Kael turned slow. Blood still dripped from his knuckles. The hatchling coiled behind his ribs, quiet for once, like it knew.

Mira stood ten feet back, sidearm raised. Her other hand held something small. A warrant chip. Guild issue.

"You gonna read me my rights?" Kael said.

"You don't get rights." She stepped closer. The crowd pressed in around them, but nobody moved to help. They never did. "Pactmaker laws are old. Real old. Section nine, subsection four. Voidling bonding is capital. No trial."

"So shoot."

Her finger didn't move off the guard. "Why'd you stop?"

"What?"

"Last fight. You had him. You let him live." Her eyes flicked to his chest. To where the mark burned under his shirt. "That thing wanted the kill. You said no."

Kael wiped his mouth. Tasted copper. "Yeah. So?"

"So maybe you're not gone yet."

The hatchling stirred. Not words. Just pressure. A cold push against the inside of his skull.

"It's talking to you right now," Mira said. "Isn't it."

Kael didn't answer.

She lowered the gun half an inch.