Chapter 25 · Rift Protocol - Chapter 25: The Voice in Her Head

"Kess."

I freeze. That's not my voice in my head.

"Kess, listen to me."

Dalen's standing three feet away, gun still in his hand, eyes locked on mine. He doesn't hear it. The voice is inside my skull, warm and soft and wrong.

"Who are you talking to?" Dalen asks.

I open my mouth. Close it. My hands are shaking.

"Kess."

It's her. Yael. I know it the way you know a spider's on your neck before you see it.

"Get out," I whisper.

Dalen's grip tightens on the gun. "What?"

"Not you." I press my palms against my temples. "Her. She's in my head."

"Kess, you're spiraling—"

"I'm not." My voice cracks. "Dalen, she's talking to me. Right now."

He takes a step closer. The gun's not aimed at me, but it's not away either. "What's she saying?"

I can't answer. Because Yael's voice is getting louder, drowning out everything else.

"You can't shut me down, Kess. I'm already in you. I've always been in you."

My knees buckle. Dalen catches my arm, hauls me upright. His hand's hot through my sleeve, real and solid, but it doesn't help. The room's tilting.

"Breathe," he says. "Look at me.