Chapter 22 · Untitled Chapter

"Don't move." I shoved the barrel under Jude's jaw before he finished turning.

He froze. His hands rose, slow and empty. "Lyra—"

"Shut up." I grabbed his collar and slammed him into the corridor wall. The metal panel rang behind his shoulders. "You knew where she was. You knew the whole damn time."

"I didn't know—"

"Seven resets." I pressed the muzzle harder under his chin. "Seven times Mara died while you marched me in circles."

His throat moved against the steel. "If I'd told you where Drake was keeping her, you'd have charged in. You did it thirty seconds ago."

"And?"

"And you'd be dead again." His voice stayed level, but his pulse punched against my fist. "Pull the trigger if you want. We'll wake up in the transit bay, and Mara goes back into that chair."

My finger tightened against the trigger guard.

I could still see the screen. Mara's mouth moving without sound. Her hands tied behind her. The timestamp blinking beneath her face: ITERATION 7.

Jude watched me. "You want her alive, or do you want revenge? Pick one."

"Why Mara?"

"Because Drake needs leverage."

"For what?"

"For you."

I shoved him flat again.