Chapter 24 · The City Wakes

"Mara." The woman in the doorway said my name like she'd been practicing it. Like she was afraid she'd forget how it sounded.

She had Elise's face. Elise's voice. Even the same slight tilt of her head before bad news.

But her chest didn't move. No breath. No pulse. Just a body-shaped absence in the doorway.

"You're not real," I said.

The shard in my palm went cold. Kieran's hand locked around my ankle, keeping me grounded. His thumb pressed once against my skin.

"Don't move," he muttered.

"I am dead," Elise said. "You can stop asking that question."

Dorian moved before I could answer.

One second he stood against the far wall. The next, he had Kieran by the throat and was hauling him upright.

"Where's the rest of the key?" Dorian demanded.

Kieran clawed at his wrist. "Go to hell."

The bond mark under my ribs flashed white-hot. Pain punched through my chest, then spread into my spine. Kieran's pain. His pulse stumbled inside my own body.

"Let him go." My voice came out low and sharp.

Dorian didn't look at me. "Your sister stole the master key and shattered it. This piece is useless without the rest.