Chapter 23 · Rehearsing Betrayal

"You’re lying!"

I didn't just say it. I spat it right into Cain’s face.

He had me pinned against the cold alloy wall of the ventilation shaft, his chest heaving against mine. On his wrist, the Council’s order glowed on a holographic pad. Cold. Clinical.

*Recover Core. Terminate Asset.*

"I don't lie about the Council, Lyra," he rasped. His voice was a low vibration I could feel rattling in my own ribs. "I don't have the luxury."

I shoved him. Hard. He didn't budge. He was a mountain of muscle and spite.

"So that's it? You play the secret guardian for years, feed me fake hope, and then just... flip the switch? 'Terminate asset'? I'm a person, Cain, not a piece of hardware!"

"Shut up," he snapped.

His hand slid from the wall to grip my jaw. Not enough to bruise, but enough to force my eyes to his. His gaze was dark, frantic. "If you keep screaming, the squad finds us in ten seconds. You want to be a corpse or a fugitive?"

"I'm already a corpse if I'm trusting you!"

I tried to twist away, but he held firm. He leaned in.