Chapter 8 · Lyra Started the Loop

"You knew." I didn't move from the console. The screen behind me was still counting down—forty-one seconds before the extraction locked. "You knew it was me from the start."

Jude didn't answer right away. He stepped between me and Drake, one hand open, the other gripping his side where the old wound had split again. Blood seeped through his shirt, dark against the torn fabric.

"Yeah," he said finally. "I knew."

Drake laughed. It was a short, sharp sound, like something breaking. "Of course he knew. You think he walked into my transport by accident? You think he let you drag him through seven resets without a plan?"

I turned just enough to see her. She had the gun level, steady, aimed at Jude's chest. Her other hand held a dead radio—someone had jammed the frequency. No backup coming. No exit but through.

"Put the weapon down," I said.

"You first." Drake's gaze flicked to the console behind me. "Step away from the system, Vane. You don't know what you're doing."

"I know enough." My hand was still on the extraction key. Thirty-four seconds. "I know you set the first charge.