Chapter 16 · Ghost in His Core

"Get out of his head, Lex." Cael's hand locked around my wrist before the blade reached his throat.

His grip was hot. Too hot. The bond under my skin flashed white, and the knife jumped in my fingers.

"Then stop letting him use your body."

"I'm not letting anyone do anything."

The voice came from Cael's mouth, but it wasn't his. It was flat, old, and cruel enough to make my teeth hurt.

"You dragged me into Judgment Core," I snapped. "You don't get to complain because I found a door."

Cael shoved my wrist aside. The blade scraped his collar instead of sinking in. A thin line of red appeared beneath his jaw.

He didn't even look at it.

"Edda's mind is in there," he said. "If you cut the wrong thread, she dies."

"She dies anyway when the wipe hits."

A black timer burned across my vision.

00:08:42.

The number dropped by one.

00:08:41.

Around us, the Judgment Core shook. White pillars split open and spilled old verdicts into the air. Faces appeared inside the cracks. Dead officials. Deleted criminals.