Chapter 10 · The Rune's Source

"Bunny."

The nickname hit harder than the gunshot.

Zero was still on his knees, blood spreading beneath him. But his eyes weren't empty anymore. They were desperate.

"No one calls me that," I said.

His mouth twitched. "She told me—"

He coughed. Red sprayed across his lips.

Ash grabbed my shoulder. "Ivy. Move. Now."

The rune on my arm flared white-hot.

My vision split in two. I couldn't tell if I still held the gun or if the gun was holding me.

Lila had called me Bunny. She'd made it up when I was four because I hopped after her everywhere.

Lila had been dead for three years.

"How do you know that name?" My voice came out shredded.

Zero tried to answer. His throat made a wet, choking sound.

"Lab... three... she's—"

His eyes rolled black.

Then he lunged.

Ash yanked me backward. Zero's claws sliced through the air where my throat had been an instant earlier.

The rune screamed inside my skull.

Kill him.

My finger tightened around the trigger.

"Don't!" Ash slammed my arm down. "He's gone!"

Zero hit the platform on all fours and howled. The sound bounced off the subway tiles.