Chapter 21 · The Door in His Chest

Leo's chest was open.

Not cut. Not torn. Just open, like someone had carved a doorframe into his ribs and left it there, waiting.

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. The blade in my hand felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and my mother's voice was still ringing in my ears. Kill Kane. Kill him now. Or I kill Leo.

"Evelyn." Kane's voice was rough, barely human. He hadn't moved since the contract shattered. Just stood there, blood running down his arm, his eyes flickering between gold and black. "Don't listen to her."

"She said you're not real." My voice cracked. "She said the real Kane Rook died twenty years ago."

"And you believe her?"

I didn't know. I didn't know anything anymore. The gate in my chest was burning, pulling at something deep inside me, and Leo's heartbeat was wrong. Too slow. Too steady. Like a machine counting down.

"She said you'll open every gate in the city before dawn."

Kane laughed. It was a bitter, broken sound. "Yeah. She would say that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means your mother's been lying to you since the day you were born.