Chapter 22 · The Door Marked Lyra

"Ivy, drop the gun!" Ash's voice cracked behind me. "Now!"

The weapon stayed aimed at Marcus's chest. My arm burned from wrist to elbow, pale blue light pulsing under my skin. My trigger finger jerked.

"I'm not doing this," I said. "The gun is."

Marcus took one step back. His cleanup team spread behind him, weapons half-raised, eyes fixed on the rune glowing in the metal.

LYRA.

"Stand down," Marcus ordered.

He said it to his team, not me. Too calm. Like he'd practiced this moment.

Zero moved before anyone else could. One second he stood by the wall. The next, he was between me and the soldiers, claws out and teeth bared.

"She asked you about the girl, Rein. Answer her."

Marcus's mouth tightened. "That's classified."

"Classified?" Zero's laugh scraped across the room. "You sent us into that lab three years ago. You called it a cleanup job. Lyra Crowe was already inside. Already part of the test."

My stomach dropped.

"You're lying." I tried to force the barrel down. My hand ignored me. "You don't know her."

Zero looked at me.