Chapter 28 · The Forbidden Protocol

"Put the page down, Kael." Sloane caught his wrist before he could feed the torn scrap into the weapon's open chamber.

Her fingers locked around him. Warm. Strong. The metal rim of her family rifle pressed against his ribs, and the muzzle pointed straight at the hidden archive door.

"Let go." Kael twisted hard. "You said the missing page was inside this weapon."

"I said nothing of the kind."

"Your face did."

"My face is not a confession."

"Then stop looking at that page like it just threatened to kill you."

The words hit closer than he meant them to. Sloane's grip tightened, and the resonance mark behind his neck answered with a sharp burn.

Kael sucked in a breath.

Sloane felt it. Her eyes dropped to the collar of his coat, then snapped back to his face. "The pact is reacting."

"No kidding. Maybe it hates being lied to."

"Maybe it knows the protocol has started."

The rifle gave a tiny click.

Both of them froze.

It was not a normal mechanical sound. No spring. No loose screw. The old weapon had no ammunition loaded, yet a thin blue line lit beneath the barrel.