Chapter 30 · Behind the Blood Door

The breathing behind the door stops.

Rona's hand is still on the metal. She can feel it—someone on the other side just held their breath. Like they heard her.

Grimm grabs her wrist. "Step back."

"No." She yanks free. Her blood sense is screaming. Whoever's in there is alive. Hurt. And the signature feels wrong in a way that makes her teeth ache.

Dax moves up beside her, one hand already glowing gold. Enhancement crawling up his forearm in those perfect geometric lines he's so proud of. "Let me crack it."

"You'll collapse the hall," Grimm snaps.

"Then what, old man? You want to knock?"

Grimm's jaw works. He looks at the door like it's a bomb. Maybe it is. The whole facility's been one giant trap so far—automated turrets, shifting walls, poison gas that nearly took Dax down two floors ago. Whoever built this place really didn't want visitors.

Rona presses her palm flat against the door. The metal's cold. No—it's freezing. Her fingers start to sting.

"Rona." Grimm's voice drops into that tone. The one that used to work when she was twelve.

She closes her eyes.