Chapter 15 · Whispers of the Void

"Stop touching my mind."

Sylvia slammed her palm against the black iron door, but the whisper under her skin only laughed.

"I’m not touching anything," Cassian said inside her head. "You’re the one tearing it open."

"Then get out."

"Gladly. Find me a body first."

A blade punched through the door beside her cheek.

Sylvia jerked back. Steel scraped iron. Someone on the other side snarled, "Open the vault, surgeon! We know you’re in there."

Cassian’s voice dropped to a cold murmur. "Three men. Maybe four. One carrying a bell-sigil."

"I can hear them."

"Then you can hear how close they are to cutting you open."

She grabbed the brass key from the dead archivist’s belt and shoved it into the lock. Her fingers wouldn’t stop shaking. The key slipped once.

Outside, the blade punched through again.

"Sylvia," Cassian said, sharper now. "Turn it."

"Don’t order me around."

"You want to argue while they carve through the door? Fine. I’ll count. Three."

"Shut up."

"Two."

The lock clicked.

Sylvia twisted the key and threw herself through the opening. A crossbow bolt snapped past her ear.