Chapter 32 · The Gatekeeper's Gambit - Chapter 32: Empty Seat on Seven

The courtesy escort tried to take his head off before they even hit the stairs to Seven.

Mo Han hit the floor hard enough his teeth clicked. The corridor lights went red. Six Keepers in gray sashes stepped out of the wall like they'd been waiting there all week, which, yeah, they had.

Wei Tiegu didn't even bother hiding. He stood at the far end with that same bored smile he used in staff meetings, one hand on a bronze token that was already glowing.

"Junior Mo," Wei said. "You were told to wait for authorization."

"I filed it," Mo Han said. He got up. Shoulder hurt. "Three times."

"Lost in processing."

Su Jin's laugh was ugly. "You people lose a lot of things."

She didn't wait for permission. Fire ran up her wrists, tight and mean, the way she always did it when she was done playing polite. The first Keeper on the left flinched. Bad idea. She stepped into him and put her palm on his chest like she was checking a pulse. He flew.

Yun Sheng didn't make a sound. She never did when it counted.