Page 50 of Zenith Tower

“Astra,” Caspian said.

“They changed the name of Delphine’s treatment every time she asked them to stop. I want to know what my Mark does before the Tower decides what to call it.”

Hale watched me for a moment. “This is not training. We find out whether your Mark responds before contact.”

“And the other two lines?” Caspian asked.

“We watch them,” Hale said. “I can’t promise more than that.”

There were no unobserved rooms left to us, and it might be another week before the four of us were together again. Water covered our voices. If we kept Hale’s arm below our knees, the stewards would not see it.

“If they see it?” I asked.

“At minimum, they end the hour.”

I looked at Caspian. Fear moved through the bond, cold and immediate, but he did not let go.

“The instant anything changes,” he said.

“I stop,” I promised.

Kieran shifted until his body blocked Hale from the steward at the far end. Caspian moved closer on the other side, shielding us from the nearer one.

Hale pushed his sleeve back just far enough to expose the rain-dark line along his forearm.

“We’re testing distance, nothing more,” he said. “Move your hand closer. Stop at the first sensation.”

I turned toward him. The line matching his lay quiet beside Caspian’s at my wrist. The unfinished green-gold rested above them.

I lifted my hand.

Nothing changed at first. Hale’s forearm remained steady across his knee, his Mark dark against his skin. I moved closer until only a narrow space separated us.

The rain-dark line on my wrist cooled.

Before I could withdraw, the green-gold snapped hot.

Kieran jerked beside me. His breath caught, and his left hand closed over his right shoulder.

I pulled back at once.

Light showed beneath the edge of Kieran’s collar, brighterthan I had seen it since the collapse. It stretched toward the hollow of his throat before drawing tight again.

Hale caught him beneath his good arm. “Kieran.”

“I’m here.” His voice came thinly.

The nearest steward started toward us.

Caspian released my hand and rose into the man’s path. “His shoulder.”

Hale lowered his sleeve while the steward’s attention was on Kieran.

The steward looked past Caspian. “What happened?”

“He shifted against the wall,” Hale said. “His shoulder took his weight.”

“Do you need the healer?”