Chapter 28 · Dad Behind the Door

The relay point smells like rust and old blood.

I'm standing in front of the lock Dad built. The one he's been calling me toward for the last three chapters of my life. Carson's leaning against the wall behind me, breathing like every inhale costs him. Jonah's got his tablet out, fingers flying, rerouting the blood flow through the network so we can buy another ten minutes.

Ten minutes to decide if I trust the man who disappeared when I was sixteen.

"Mia." Dad's voice comes through the crack in the gate again. Not loud. Not desperate. Just steady. Like he's been waiting and he knew I'd show. "Put your hand on the lock. I'll do the rest."

I don't move.

Carson shifts behind me. His heartbeat's all over the place through the bond. He's losing too much blood. The relay's pulling it straight out of him and feeding it into Sera's ritual upstairs. If I don't reverse the flow soon, he's done.

But Dad's voice. It's the same voice that taught me how to pick my first lock.