Chapter 26 · Don't Give Me Back

I can't move my hands.

They're mine. They've been mine for weeks. But right now they're flexing against the bulkhead rail like someone else is testing the joints. My jaw clicks. Not me. I didn't do that.

"Briar." The voice comes out of my throat but it's not my cadence. Clipped. Older. "Lower the gun. You know me."

Briar doesn't lower shit. The muzzle stays centered on my chest and her off hand is already on her jack cable. "Yeah. I know you. Question is which you I'm talking to."

I'm screaming inside my own head but nothing comes out. The old Sable—my body's first owner—she's got motor control. I'm shoved down into some partition I didn't even know existed. I can feel my pulse hammering. I can see through my eyes. I just can't move.

"Isla's granddaughter," the old Sable says. My mouth. Her words. "You have her eyes. And her terrible trigger discipline."

Briar's expression goes flat. "You don't get to talk about her."

"I put her in that casket." Old Sable's tone is factual. Cold. "I signed the transfer. Vey's father paid me in docking credits and a five-year hush clause. Isla knew. She volunteered.