Chapter 25 · Factory Reset

"Stop fighting it, little glitch." The Scholar's voice scrapes straight through my skull. "You're not a princess. You're a prototype. Wetware with a crown glued on."

He slams his palm into the barrier and purple lightning rips up my spine. My knees hit stone. Hard.

My vision stutters. Archive walls — then grid — then a blueprint of a heart with serial numbers stamped on the valves.

"Sloane! Eyes on me!" Kael slams his shoulder into the shimmering wall on the other side. The whole thing shudders. "Get out of her head!"

"She's not *in* there, Guard." The Scholar leans in, eyes lit up like he's starving. "She *is* the vessel. Question is, is the original still driving? Or did the autopilot finally take over?"

I try to scream. Nothing comes out but static. My nails claw at the stone. Every breath hums. Not air. A frequency. A loop.

"I'm—" I choke. "I'm real. I'm—"

"Real?" He doesn't use his hand. He pushes a needle of ice straight through the barrier and into my spine. "You're echoes, Sloane. Augustus didn't exile you. He built you. Royal blood in a vial poured into a pretty shell.