Chapter 11 · The Mechanic Who Stayed Silent

The lieutenant died before he could say another word.

His body sagged against the black-tiled wall, leaving a wet red smear beneath the emergency lights. For one second, nobody moved. The tower listened to the sound of his blood dripping onto the floor.

Then the alarms began again.

Not the sharp evacuation sirens from before. These were deeper, slower—three mechanical pulses that rolled through the tower like the heartbeat of something buried beneath the city.

Eli felt each pulse in his bones.

The ember under his skin answered.

A dull scarlet glow crawled up his forearm, threading beneath the skin in branching lines. His fingers curled before he realized he was making a fist. Somewhere below them, metal groaned. The sound climbed through the tower’s foundations, carrying a pressure that made the glass in the command room tremble.

“Tell me that isn’t the army,” Captain Voss said.

Marlow Finch stared at the dead lieutenant. His face had gone gray beneath the grease stains and old burn marks. “It’s not the army.”

Sera leaned against the command table, one hand clamped over her wounded shoulder. Blood had soaked through the makeshift bandage and spread beneath her fingers.