Chapter 43 · The Copy City Hunts Back

"Move, Evelyn!" Kade shoved me sideways as the street split under our boots.

A black seam ripped through the pavement. Not a crack. A mouth. Red light flashed inside it, and a row of identical buildings rose from the gap, brick by brick, like the city was copying itself in fast-forward.

I hit the side of a delivery van hard enough to knock the breath out of me. Kade landed between me and the seam, one hand braced against the van, the other already reaching for the weapon at his hip.

"You said the copy couldn't cross over."

"I said it shouldn't be able to." He pulled the weapon free. "Different problem."

"That is not a comforting distinction."

The copied building finished forming behind him. Same broken sign. Same rusted fire escape. Same narrow windows.

Our old apartment building.

My throat tightened.

"Kade." I grabbed his sleeve. "That building was erased."

"I know."

"Then why is it here?"

His jaw locked. The red light from the seam cut across his face, catching the pale line of the scar near his temple. His pulse jumped beneath the skin of his neck. Mine answered before I could stop it.

One beat.

Two.