Chapter 20 · Door Opens For Her Only

"Step inside and you’re a dead woman, Jett. Don’t be a martyr, it doesn’t suit you."

Reign’s voice was a low vibration against my ear, his chest pressed flush against my back. He had me pinned against the shimmering, iridescent barrier of the Tower’s inner sanctum. The air here smelled like ozone and old blood, and the System’s warning sirens were screaming in a frequency that made my teeth ache.

"I’m already a dead woman, remember?" I snapped, trying to elbow him in the ribs. "Level Zero. Trash. Glitch in the matrix. What’s the difference?"

He didn’t budge. His grip on my wrist tightened, his thumb pressing right into the glowing brand of the collar—the mark that tied my soul to his AI core. It burned. Not a physical fire, but a digital sear that made my pulse spike.

"The difference is that out here, the corp kill-squads have a clear shot at your head," Reign murmured, his breath hot against my neck. "Inside? The System will erase you before you even hit the floor. It’s not a room, Jett. It’s a shredder for anyone without a rank."

I twisted in his grip, staring at the massive, seamless obsidian door.