Chapter 30 · The Heir's Confession

"Hands behind your head."

The mechanical arm punched through Elias's shoulder before he could move.

He dropped to one knee. Blood ran down his sleeve and splashed across the black-glass console.

"Elias!" Nia lunged for him.

"Don't pull it out." He caught the console with his good hand. His knuckles went white. "You were absolutely gonna pull it out."

"I was gonna cut it off."

"That's worse."

Another arm shot from the ceiling. Nia shoved Elias sideways. The claw slammed into the grate where his head had been and punched straight through.

The broadcast core shook.

Every screen flashed Nia's face. Every speaker used her voice.

"Submit to authorized correction," the city said through her mouth. "The past is a disease."

Nia drove the ember forward. White fire struck the nearest screen. Glass burst, and a dozen copies of her face vanished in sparks.

"Shut up!"

The speakers kept talking.

"Submit to authorized correction."

At the far end of the chamber, Kellan jerked against the silver web. Lines crawled over his neck and vanished beneath his jaw. His eyes had gone almost metallic.

Almost.

He looked at Nia.

"Red bucket," he said.

Her breath caught. "What?"

"Behind the stove.