Chapter 17 · The Night He Was Born

"You're going to what?" Mara's voice cut through the static hum of the rewinding station like a blade.

"Cross it," Jace said. He was already moving, boots scraping on the grated floor. "I need that file."

"The hell you do." She grabbed his arm, spun him around. Her fingers dug in hard enough to bruise. "You step into a full rewind corridor and you won't just lose an hour. You'll lose everything after the anchor date."

"I know."

"You know." She laughed, sharp and bitter. "You know, and you're walking in anyway."

Jace pulled his arm free. "My birth file's in there. Silas said the next reset goes back to the night I was born. If I don't grab it now, I'll never know what he did to me."

"What he did to you doesn't matter if you're not alive to use it."

"It matters to me."

Mara stepped in close, close enough that he could feel the heat coming off her, the sharp edge of her breath. "You think I'm letting you walk into that thing alone?"

"I think you don't have a choice."

"Wrong." She shoved past him, heading for the corridor entrance.