Chapter 29 · When the Storm Looks Back

The core's not screaming anymore.

That's the first thing I notice when the ringing in my ears finally stops. The second thing is that Echo's staring at me like I just grew a second head, and the third is that every alarm in the control room died mid-shriek.

The storm outside the reinforced glass went quiet.

Not gone. Quiet. Like it's holding its breath.

"Kai." Echo's voice cracks on my name. Not the smooth broker tone. Her real voice, the one I heard for maybe three seconds before everything went sideways. "What did you do?"

I look down at my hands. Sand's still crawling up my forearms, black and red threads woven through the gold now. It doesn't hurt. It should hurt.

"I broke it," I say. My voice sounds far away. "You saw me break it."

"Yeah, I saw." She's moving toward me now, boots crunching on crystal shards from the core's outer shell. "But the storm—"

The window explodes.

Not inward. Outward. Like something inside the room shoved the glass into the sandstorm, and I'm grabbing Echo's arm and pulling her down before I even process the thought. We hit the floor hard.