Chapter 16 · Forget Me First

The memory snaps off like a bone.

I'm on my knees in the alley behind the blood pit, Karl's teeth still in my shoulder. His hand's clamped around my wrist. He's shaking so hard I feel it in my ribs.

"Amy." His voice cracks. "Amy, I—"

I shove him back. Not hard. Just enough to break contact.

He lets go. Sits back on his heels, blood on his mouth, eyes wide and wet. He looks like he did in the memory. Fourteen. Terrified.

"I saw it," I say. My shoulder's on fire. "The day they took you."

He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. Doesn't look at me. "You weren't supposed to see that."

"Yeah, well." I press my palm over the bite. Blood seeps through my fingers. "Guess the bond doesn't care what I'm supposed to see."

He flinches.

I pull the folded papers out of my jacket. The ones we stole. Lab results. Chemical formulas. A handwritten note clipped to the top: *Subject C. Ashe—bond anchor confirmed, permanent grade. Recommend memory wipe if recapture fails.*

I hold it out.

Karl stares at it. Doesn't move.

"This is it," I say. "The cure protocol.