Chapter 31 · Break the Halo

Arden's voice came through every speaker at once.

"Erase the witnesses."

Jessa froze with one finger over the upload key. Across the control room, three of the injured halo units lifted their heads. Their eyes went white. The cables in their necks lit up blue.

"Nia," Rowan said.

Not loud. Not scared.

Worse. Ready.

I grabbed Jessa's wrist and yanked her away from the console. "Don't touch that button."

"I wasn't going to." Her eyes stayed on the screens. "I was going to hit send."

"You heard him. The second that file goes public, those things tear through everyone in this room."

"And if we wait, Arden gets another chance to bury it."

Behind us, metal screamed.

One of the halo units ripped free from its restraint chair. Its shoulder hit the floor hard enough to crack the tile. It didn't even look down. A thin ring of light opened behind its head, spinning faster and faster.

Rowan stepped between it and us.

The silver in her hair was dark with blood. Her bare feet slid half an inch on the floor.