Chapter 29 · Untitled Chapter

Dorian's knife punched through my palm before I could pull away.

"Don't move," he murmured.

His fingers closed around mine, forcing my hand tighter against the blade. Blood slipped between our knuckles. He smiled when I finally looked up at him.

"There," he said. "That's the part you were missing."

The floor bucked beneath us.

Kieran hit Dorian from behind, but Dorian twisted and hurled me into him. We crashed onto the stone. My bleeding hand slapped the carvings, and red light burst through the lines beneath my fingers.

The room shook again.

Not like the Registry collapsing. This came from below—deep, slow, and powerful enough to rattle my teeth.

"Mara!" Kieran caught my shoulder. "Get up."

I tried. My hand wouldn't move.

The red lines spread from my blood, racing across the floor toward the center. The bond in my chest pulled tight, dragging me toward the light.

Not pain. A command.

Something below us had found the thread between Kieran and me and wrapped it around its fist.

"What did you do?" Kieran shoved Dorian back.

Dorian landed on one knee and laughed. "I opened the lock. She turned the key."

"You used her.