Chapter 16 · You want the truth?

He moved fast.

One second I had space between us. The next, my back hit the sealed door. His hand closed around both my wrists and lifted them above my head. His knee pressed between mine, keeping me pinned without crushing me.

His face was inches from mine.

The room smelled like hot circuitry, metal, and the faint copper taste of his blood. His breath brushed my lips when he spoke.

"You want the truth?"

"I want you to stop deciding what I can handle."

"The lower zone isn't a prison."

"Then what is it?"

"A graveyard."

"For who?"

"For every identity Orion erased and couldn't delete."

The words landed harder than his grip.

"You sent people there."

"I sent data there."

"People, Silas."

"Some of them were already dead."

"And the rest?"

He didn't answer.

I drove my forehead into his.

He cursed and loosened his grip. I tore one wrist free and shoved the black device from his hand. It skidded across the floor and struck the base of the console.

The timer glitched.

00:01:09.

Then the numbers vanished.

Every screen went white.

Silas turned toward the console. "What did you do?"

"I touched your precious system.