Chapter 25 · The Door Before Morning

"Don't touch that door."

Iris grabbed my wrist before my fingers reached the handle. Her nails bit in hard enough to draw blood.

"Let go," I said.

"You don't know what's behind it."

"My mother's voice just said our childhood code. So yeah, I know exactly what's behind it."

She didn't let go. Her pulse hammered against my skin where her thumb pressed my vein. "That's not your mother."

"You lied about the door existing at all. Why would I believe you now?"

"Because I need you alive."

"For what? The next job? The one after that?" I twisted my wrist free. "You've been using me since the first loop. Don't pretend you care if I walk through."

Her hand dropped. For half a second something cracked open in her expression—something that looked like actual fear. Then it locked back down.

"Fine," she said. "Go ahead. Open it. See what happens."

I waited for her to step back. She didn't. She stood close enough that I could feel the heat rolling off her, smell the faint copper tang of blood still drying on her sleeves from the last job.