The black chains twisting out of Maya’s shadow didn’t feel like metal at all. More like a heavy sadness, so cold it hurt. They hissed as they wrapped around the falling ship’s silver hull, yanking it back just before it smashed into the high-rises. Saving the city cost Maya dearly. The black ink creeping up her hand wasn’t stopping—it was crawling up her neck now, racing through her veins like dark lightning.
“Maya, let go!” Julian shouted. He grabbed her arm, trying to pull her away from the street, but it was hopeless, like trying to move a mountain. His hurt shoulder tore open; blood soaked through his bandages. Still, he wouldn’t back down.
“I can’t!” Maya gasped. Her teeth chattered from the cold that seemed to come from inside her bones. “If I let go, the ship crashes and kills eve
