Chapter 25 · The Key Mark

"Mara." Kieran's voice broke against my ear. "Can't—"

"Shut up." I locked an arm around his waist as blood soaked through my sleeve. "You're not dying in this alley. Move."

Boots slammed around the corner behind us. Dorian's voice followed, sharp through the loudspeakers. "Sector Seven! Seal every exit!"

Kieran stumbled. I caught him before his knees hit the pavement and dragged him into the next alley. His weight nearly pulled me down with him.

"You turned on the whole city," he rasped.

"I noticed."

"The grid doesn't answer to people."

"It answered to me. Keep walking."

The glowing lines across my palms flickered. Every step sent a pulse through the wires beneath the street. Streetlights flashed on ahead, one after another, while the blocks behind us went dark.

The life bond trembled between us. It wasn't counting down. It wasn't a key or a spell waiting for a new definition. It was simpler and worse: if one of us stopped, the other followed.

Kieran's fingers dug into my shoulder. "The bond's failing."

"Then stay alive."

"That's your plan?"

"It's the only one I've got."

We hit the alley's dead end.