Chapter 61 · He staggered backward inside the cage. His spine

He staggered backward inside the cage. His spine bent too far. Not broken. Wrong. His shoulders rolled beneath his shirt as thick muscle pushed against the fabric.

“Stop it!” Lila shouted. “Silas, shut it off!”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“Bullshit!”

“The mutation is self-sustaining now.”

Cain rose in one movement. “You said temporary.”

“I said he had a chance.”

“You used him as a test.”

“I used the only compatible subject available.”

Lila’s fingers curled into fists. “He was dying.”

“And now he’s stronger than any surface-born human.”

“That’s your sales pitch?”

“Call it an upgrade.”

Tomas turned toward the glass.

His eyes were still brown. That was the worst part. The rest of him had changed, but those eyes stayed trapped inside it.

“Lila,” he rasped.

She moved toward the cage.

Cain caught her around the waist and pulled her back against him.

“Don’t,” he said into her ear.

“He knows me.”

“For now.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know what happens when the control signal hits.”

“Then tell me how to stop it.”

“I don’t know.”

“You always have an answer.”

“Not this time.”

His arm stayed locked around her middle.