Chapter 26 · Untitled Chapter

"Don't." I yank my shirt closed before Kieran can touch the mark on my chest.

He stares at the blood soaking his torn shirt instead. The wound beneath it is gone—pink skin, fresh and tight. "Mara, what did you just do?"

"I kept you alive." My hands shake, so I jam them into my pockets. "Try saying thank you."

His laugh comes out rough. He stays braced against the tunnel wall, one hand pressed to his side even though he doesn't need it anymore. "You pulled power straight through the Grid."

"And?"

"And the Registry felt it."

A siren wails somewhere above us. Then another answers it.

Kieran pushes away from the wall. His knees buckle. I catch his arm before he hits the concrete, and heat jumps through my palm. His breath catches. Mine does too.

"Don't lean on me," I snap.

"You grabbed me."

"I changed my mind. Fall if you want."

He steadies himself, but he doesn't let go right away. His fingers close around my wrist, warm and hard. The mark under my shirt pulses once between us.

Kieran looks down at our hands. "It's still there."

"The mark? Yeah. I noticed."

"No. The connection.