Page 60 of Zenith Tower

He paused. Then I felt his choice, separate from mine, as Kieran reached back.

Yes.

The green-gold line closed between us.

Light drove through the fracture. My back arched, and acry tore out of me as the new bond took the strain the broken Mark could no longer carry. Kieran’s pain flooded through it: the long burn at his shoulder, the exhaustion of holding his own body together, and the sudden terror of feeling it fail.

Underneath the pain was Kieran himself, alive and unmistakable.

I held to him.

The fracture began to seal.

Green-gold spread into channels that had gone dark, slow at first, then faster as Kieran’s strength met mine. His Mark pulled from one side while mine held from the other, the completed line carrying the weight between us.

The broken edges joined beneath my palms.

At my wrist, the unfinished line drew taut. Its open end extended across my skin and settled into place beside the others, green-gold and complete.

Warmth returned to Kieran’s chest.

His heart struck beneath my hand, faltered, and settled into a steady rhythm.

Air entered his lungs in a rough, deep breath.

The room rushed back around me.

I opened my eyes to white light fading from the walls. Hale was bent over Kieran, one hand at his throat. The healer stared at the unbroken skin of his shoulder. Her open case lay beside her, linen and glass vials scattered across the floor.

Caspian was kneeling at my side. One arm held me upright. His shock came sharp and cold, but his arm around me remained steady.

Marrow stood at the foot of the bed.

“What did you do?” he asked.

I tried to sit back. My arms gave way, and Caspian caught more of my weight.

Blood ran warm over my upper lip. I wiped it with the back of my hand and looked down at Kieran.

Color had begun to return beneath his skin. His chest roseand fell unevenly, but it kept moving. The fracture at his shoulder was gone.

The healer pressed her palm over the place where it had been. “The line is intact.”

Hale looked at her. “The whole Mark?”

She traced the Mark beneath Kieran’s torn collar, her touch careful. “I can’t find the break.”

“Astra.” Marrow’s voice hardened. “Answer me.”

I pushed my sleeve back with shaking fingers.

Caspian’s line remained dark and steady. Hale’s still ended open against my skin. The third line no longer stopped near my pulse. Green-gold continued across my wrist in a shape that had not existed before I put my hands on Kieran.

Caspian’s and Kieran’s bonds were complete. Hale’s was not.

Everyone saw it.

“We bonded,” I said.