Chapter 8 · The Black Box Doc

Kade's clinic smells like burnt circuits and something I don't want to name.

I'm holding Nox against my ribs. It's not bleeding anymore, but it's not moving either. Just a cold weight pressed into my jacket, heavier than it should be. Sloane's behind me. She hasn't said a word since we left the arena floor, but I can feel her watching my back like she's waiting for me to collapse.

"Through here." Kade doesn't look at me. He pushes open a steel door with his shoulder and the smell gets worse. Chemical. Organic. The kind of mix that says someone's been cutting things open and putting them back together wrong.

The room's smaller than I expected. One exam table. Monitors that flicker like they're about to die. A wall of cabinets with locks that look military-grade. Kade flips on a overhead light and it buzzes, throwing harsh white across everything.

"Put it on the table."

I don't move. "You said you could fix this."

"I said I'd look." He's pulling on gloves. Black ones. Not the disposable kind. "Put it down or get out."

Sloane steps up next to me. Her voice is low. "Mara. Let him work.