Chapter 24 · Her Sister on the Throne

Liv's face filled every screen in the hall.

Not a recording. Not a deepfake. Her. Live. Strapped into something that looked like a medical chair crossed with a medieval torture rack, metal cuffs around her wrists and a thin wire crown sitting crooked on her head. Her eyes were half-closed. Bruises shadowed her cheeks.

I couldn't breathe.

"Mara Voss." The voice came from somewhere above the feeds, smooth and clinical. Not Petra's purr. Someone new. "Your sister's bond capacity is impressive. She'll last longer than most. But not forever."

Sloane grabbed my arm. I didn't pull away. I couldn't move.

"Bring the shadow," the voice said. "Intact. Willing. Before the final match. Or we'll see how much charge a twelve-year-old body can hold."

The feeds cut. All at once. Just Liv's face, gone, replaced by the standard pre-match countdown graphics.

I turned and shoved past Sloane. She didn't try to stop me. I made it three steps before my knees buckled and I hit the wall hard enough to rattle my teeth.

Nox poured out of my shadow like smoke, half-formed, ribs showing through the black haze of him. He didn't speak. Didn't need to.