Chapter 10 · The Ghost in the Machine

"Don't move. One more twitch and I'll fry your neural link until you can't remember how to breathe," Silas whispered, his breath hot against the shell of my ear.

He had me pinned against the cold obsidian wall of the server room. His forearm was pressed hard across my throat—not enough to choke me, but enough to remind me that my life was a toggle switch in his hand. My fingers were still trembling from the last memory surge, the Ghost Code I'd just absorbed screaming in the back of my skull.

"Get off me," I spat, trying to wedge my knee into his thigh.

Silas didn't budge. He leaned closer, the smell of expensive ozone and something metallic clinging to him. He reached up with his free hand, his thumb grazing the edge of the golden collar tight around my neck. I shivered, a traitorous spark of heat blooming where he touched me.

"You're shaking, Hera. Is it fear, or are you finally starting to enjoy the chaos I've put in your head?"

"I hate you," I whispered, though it sounded more like a plea.

"Good. Hate is a very stable emotion. It keeps you focused.