Chapter 17 · The Contract Won't Stay Torn

The parchment burns through my hand before I can drop it.

"Okay. Okay, that's new." I fling it across the chamber. It hits the stone, curls inward, and collapses into gray ash before the flame reaches my fingers.

The contract is gone. I'm not.

I stand in front of the barrier core, breathing hard, while its two halves spin in opposite directions. Blue light snaps across the walls. The machine's whine climbs until my teeth hurt.

"That was supposed to kill me," I say.

No answer comes from the empty chamber.

I look down at the smear of ash. Twenty minutes ago, I tore the contract in half. Break the terms, pay the price. That was the rule. I should've vanished on the spot.

Instead, I find a second set of words burned beneath the real clauses. Cramped ink. Hidden between the lines like someone shoved a note inside a locked drawer.

*Reset authority transfers to—*

*Karl.*

*Admission rescinded. Reinstatement clause. One night only.*

*Karl Murray, admitted freshman.*

"Freshman," I mutter. "You kicked yourself out, then wrote yourself back in."

The core shrieks.

I back toward the wall and keep my eyes on the machine.