Kade followed her gaze. The tower still twisted subtly, vertebrae grinding, the light at its peak pulsing irregularly like a damaged heart.
"What exactly is that thing?"
"A remnant," she said. "A spine torn from a Watcher during the first war. It was cast into the space-between before the Fallen learned how to corrupt remnants into weapons."
"That's… rough."
"It has been bleeding power for millennia. Power the Interstice channels. But its resonance is fractured. To leave, you must retrieve the shard trapped at its summit."
"Retrieve," Kade repeated. "As in climb it?"
Seren's neutral expression barely shifted. "Yes."
He exhaled through his teeth. "Fine. Then let's get this over with."
The porcelain fox chirped and darted ahead, as if impatient. Kade followed, still flexing his fingers and letting small sparks pulse between them. The light came easier now—dangerously easy. It made his nerves hum.
