Chapter 21 · Untitled Chapter

"Miki, run." Dad's silver eyes locked on hers, and then his hand jerked toward her.

For half a second, the silver in his gaze broke apart. His shoulders sagged. His mouth worked soundlessly, dry and stiff, like he'd forgotten how to speak.

"Miki?"

Her chest caved in. Nobody called her that anymore. Nobody except him, when she was six and afraid of the dark, when he'd sat beside her bed and held her hand until she stopped shaking.

"Dad." Her voice cracked. "Dad, it's me. I'm right here—"

"Miki, run." His fingers trembled as he reached for her. "Run, baby. Don't let him—"

The Arbiter pressed his thumb to the wrist device.

Her father's head exploded.

Red sprayed across the concrete and Mika's face. His body stayed upright for one impossible second, as if it hadn't heard the order. Then his knees folded, and he hit the floor with a wet, heavy thud.

Mika couldn't breathe.

"No." The word scraped out of her. "No, no—"

"Efficient, isn't it?" The Arbiter sounded bored. "Loyalty's a battery. Drain it, replace it."

The room broke apart.

Silver-eyed Bonded charged from every side. Some screamed in voices that didn't belong to them.