Chapter 9. Beneath the Skin

Kaelen gripped the wheel, every muscle in his jaw tight, his focus absolute.

Mira sat beside him, silent now, the raw emotion of leaving Martha settling into a weary calm. She watched the endless folds of forest rushing past, the familiar scent of coastal salt long gone, replaced by the deep, biting musk of pine and wild earth.

Her head still throbbed, but she forced herself to hold still, concentrating on the rhythm of the road. They had to move before the escalating pain—before the silver beacon inside her—betrayed their position to Magnus’s hunters.

They drove for nearly an hour, the car consuming the distance like a hungry beast, the only sound the low rumble of the engine.

Suddenly, the silence cracked.

Mira gasped, sharp and involuntary, clutching her head.

The world fractured into jagged silver. Pain exploded behind her eyes—far worse than anything earlier, unbearable and immediate. The silver tracery beneath her skin pulsed violently, radi