Chapter 31 · The Mirror COO

Mira had one finger on the kill command when the woman behind the glass opened her eyes.

The command blinked red across the stolen Vault console.

KILL HOST.

Mira did not press it.

Celine Zhao stared back at her from the isolation room, soaked hair stuck to her cheeks, a clear tube taped against her throat. She looked half-dead. She also looked exactly like Mira.

That was the part Mira still couldn't get used to.

Not the blood under Celine's fingernails. Not the black cable disappearing into the port behind her ear. Not the machine counting down in bright blue numbers above her bed.

Forty-one hours, twelve minutes, and eight seconds until the interface locked her out for good.

Mira had watched the number fall for most of the night.

She had also watched Celine wake up twice, scream once, and ask for a phone that no longer belonged to her.

Now Celine pressed one palm against the glass.

Her lips moved.

Mira couldn't hear her through the sealed room, but she knew the words anyway.

Let me out.

"You don't get to ask for that," Mira said.

Her voice sounded rough.