Chapter Six Farther Than Before

The vision came harder this time.

I let it climb the way Cole told me to. The dark street opened first. Then the smoke. Then the tall shape turning toward me again. I felt the mark burn as the connection strengthened.

“Hold,” Cole’s voice said from far away. “Don’t go under.”

I stayed at the edge. The entity moved closer in the vision. I could feel its attention lock onto me completely.

You are already claimed, it seemed to say without words.

I pushed back.

The vision shook.

Blood ran heavily from my nose. My body felt distant.

“Now cut it,” Cole ordered.

I tore myself free.

I came back gasping. Cole’s hands were on my shoulders, steadying me. His face was close, eyes sharp with focus.

“I’ve got you,” he said.

I nodded, unable to speak yet. My head pounded, but I was still myself.

June handed me a cloth. Her hands were shaking. “You’re pushing too hard.”

“I have to,” I said.

Cole didn’t move away immediately. His hands stayed on my shoulders until my breathing evened out.

“You went farther than most manage in the first week,” he said. “That’s both good and dangerous.”

“Why dangerous?”

“Because the more you touch that connection, the more it touches you back. The mark will keep growing if you’re not careful.”

I wiped the blood from my face. “Then we keep going until I can control it.”

Cole looked at me for a long second. Something unspoken passed between us — recognition, maybe, or the beginning of real trust.

“We rest for one hour,” he said. “Then we move again. The Wardens will have noticed that last signal.”

June leaned her head back against the wall. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

I reached over and took her hand. “I know. I’m sorry.”

She squeezed once and didn’t let go right away.

Cole stood and checked the door. “You’re doing better than you think, Thea. Most people break after the first real claim attempt. You didn’t.”

I watched him from where I sat.

“Why are you really helping me?” I asked.

He paused with his back still partially turned.

“Because I failed the last person I tried to keep alive,” he said. “I’m not doing that again.”

The honesty in his voice settled heavily in the room.

Outside, the wind moved along the empty street.

Cole turned back to face me fully.

“One more thing,” he said. “When this is over — if we survive the blackout — you’re going to have to decide what you want to become. The power you’re touching doesn’t leave people the same.”

I held his gaze.

“I already died once,” I said. “I don’t plan on staying the same.”

A faint, real shift crossed his expression.

“Good,” he said quietly. “Then we might actually make it.”

In the distance, a car engine slowed near the end of the street.

Cole’s body went still.

“They’re here,” he said.