Chapter 29 · My Dad Is the Lock

The voice coming out of the core isn't filtered anymore. It's raw. Human. And I know it.

"Don't break it."

My hand freezes an inch from the surface. The fracture lines are still glowing, still leaking that sick green light, but I can't move. Can't breathe.

"Kai."

That's my name. In his voice. The one I heard every morning before school, every night when he'd come home late smelling like disinfectant and something burnt I could never place.

"Dad?"

Vera's still on her knees ten feet away, blood running down her temple. She's staring at me like I just grew a second head. Mossan's halfway to the door, frozen mid-step.

The core pulses. Brighter. The voice comes again, and this time it sounds tired. Older than I remember.

"I'm the lock, kid. You break this, the whole thing comes down."

I take a step back. My fingers are still sparking, Mark energy crawling up my forearms like it's got nowhere else to go. "What the hell are you talking about? Where are you?"

"Inside." A pause. Static hiss. Then: "They needed someone who could hold it. Someone who knew both sides. I volunteered."

"Volunteered." The word tastes like acid.