Chapter 26 · The Debt Door

"Don't."

Mara's gun wasn't pointed at Silas anymore. It was pointed at me.

"Don't what?" I said.

"Don't put that key in," she said. "Not yet."

The core hummed behind us, low and hungry. My sister's voice was still leaking out of it, thin and scared, saying my name over and over. Every time I heard it, something in my chest tried to claw its way out.

"Jace, please, I'm so cold—"

"That's not her," Mara said. Her hand wasn't shaking. "You know that's not her."

"I know," I said. But I didn't move.

Silas was still standing in the doorway, tablet in one hand, the other tucked in his coat pocket like he was waiting for a bus. He looked calm. He always looked calm. That was the worst part.

"You have forty-one seconds," he said. "After that, the core locks itself and pulls the whole reset forward. Permanent loop. No one gets out. No one remembers. Just the same hour, forever."

"Bullshit," Mara said.

"Test it," Silas said. He tapped the tablet screen. The countdown jumped from forty-one to thirty-eight. "Or shoot me. That also works. The fail-safe triggers either way."

Mara's jaw clenched.