Chapter 12 · Kill Her. Get Your Sword Back.

"You came back for me."

Mara's voice is thick, wet. Blood's dripping from her wrists where the chains bit in, pooling on the stone under her knees. She's looking at me like I'm something holy.

I'm not.

"Shut up," I say. "Can you stand?"

"Kira—"

"Can you stand?"

She nods. Barely. I cut the chain with the guard's sword—poor balance, but it'll do—and she slumps forward. I catch her before she hits the floor. She's lighter than she should be. How long has Halrik had her down here?

"Where is it?" I ask.

She blinks. "Where's what?"

"The loop machine. The valve. The thing that resets the day."

Her eyes go wide. "You know."

"I know a lot of things now." I haul her up, get her arm over my shoulder. "Where?"

"Through the blood trench. Under the main arena floor. There's a chamber—" She coughs, red spattering her lips. "Kira, he knows. He knows you remember."

Yeah. I figured that out when he started quoting my own last words back at me.

"How long have you known?" I ask.

She doesn't answer right away. We're moving now, slow, her weight dragging on my shoulder.