Chapter 29 · Poisoned Memories

"Get out of my head!" I screamed, though the voice didn't even feel like mine anymore. It was a distorted echo, vibrating through my skull like a cracked speaker.

Sloane slammed me against the rusted metal plating of the safehouse wall. The impact knocked the wind out of me, but she didn't let go. Her fingers dug into my shoulders, her knuckles white, pinning me there with a strength that reminded me exactly who held the leash in this partnership.

"Stop fighting it, Kael!" she hissed, her face inches from mine. I could smell the sharp scent of ozone and stale coffee on her breath. "If you don't let the sync stabilize, your nervous system is going to fry itself. You're shaking like a damn leaf. Look at me!"

I tried to shake my head, but the world was tilting. Static flickered across my vision—black, white, and then a sudden, violent flash of a sterile white room. A needle. A voice telling me I was a failure. A scream that sounded like my own, but younger, smaller.

"I can't... it's too much," I gasped, my voice breaking.