Chapter 35 · A Throne Without an Heir

The repair shop shook around them.

Dust sifted from the ceiling in pale curtains. Somewhere above, a hunter drone screamed against the pavement, its searchlight cutting through the cracks in the reinforced shutters. The sound crawled down through the concrete and settled in Eli's bones.

Marlow stood over the central workbench with a blood-smeared data slate clutched in both hands. The screen flickered between corrupted files, old battlefield footage, and a single line of restored command code.

VALE CONTINGENCY NETWORK: HEREDITARY ACCESS REQUIRED.

Sera sat on the edge of a metal table while Marlow tightened a pressure seal around her abdomen. Her shirt was black with blood, and the color made her skin look almost translucent. She did not flinch when the clamp bit down. Only her fingers betrayed her. They curled against the table's edge, nails digging into the steel.

Eli watched those fingers instead of her face.

"How long?" he asked.

Marlow glanced toward the sealed entrance. "Until the door gives? Maybe three minutes. Until the whole block is buried? Five. Depends how much of the street Oren is willing to sacrifice."

A distant impact rolled through the shop. Glass shattered somewhere overhead.

Sera's eyes lifted to Eli.