Chapter 16 · The Sister Behind the Curtain

"Get up," Sienna said, hauling me off the floor by my collar.

I couldn't hear her. I'd lost that sense two loops ago. I read her lips instead, felt the panic in the way she yanked me upright. Blood glued my shirt to my ribs where Marcus's blast had caught me.

"Marcus?" I asked.

I couldn't tell if I shouted or whispered. Sienna didn't answer. She grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the fire exit.

The gala hall had turned into a stampede. Smoke rolled over overturned tables. Guests shoved toward the doors while security closed in from three sides.

I dug in my heels and pointed at the stage.

Sienna's eyes widened. She shook her head hard enough to send loose strands of hair across her face.

I ripped free.

Marcus was still standing up there, one hand clamped over his bleeding shoulder and the other wrapped around that goddamn recorder. Its red light blinked beneath his fingers. My sister's voice spilled from the speaker in a broken loop—distorted, crackling, but unmistakably Mia.

The crowd couldn't hear it over the panic. I could still read Marcus's lips.

My name.

Sienna caught my arm again and spun me around.