Chapter 17 · The Kill Command

The command sat there like a loaded gun.

KILL ME BEFORE I FALL FOR YOU.

I stared at the text until my eyes burned. Old Vera—the one who'd been trapped here long enough to leave warnings—had coded this into the deepest layer of the exit file. Not a suggestion. A command.

"Vera."

Nyx's voice came from behind me. I didn't turn around.

"Don't," I said.

"You need to see the parameters."

"I don't need to see shit." My hands were shaking. The interface flickered around the command line, waiting for input. "I need this thing gone."

"It's a timed trigger." Nyx moved closer. I could feel the temperature drop—she always ran cold, like the game couldn't decide if she was supposed to be alive or just very convincing code. "If you don't execute, it fires automatically."

I turned. She looked exactly like she had the first loop. White hair, gold eyes, that black coat that moved like liquid shadow. Except now I knew the way she tilted her head when she was worried. The way her jaw tightened when she was about to lie.

She wasn't lying now.

"When?" I asked.

"Forty-eight hours. Game time.