Chapter 27 · The Second Voice in the Black Box

The city turned against them one rune at a time.

Blue-white symbols crawled across the walls of the recovery chamber, spilling through the cracks in the stone like frost. Every few seconds, one of them flared red. TREASON. ASHFALL ENEMY. XL-013: CONTAIN OR TERMINATE.

Xia Lan stood beneath the dead machine at the center of the chamber, her silver eyes reflecting the warnings. The ring around her finger had gone cold. A moment ago, it had burned hot enough to blister her skin. Now it pulsed with a faint, stubborn light, as if something beneath the floor were breathing through it.

Above them, Riftport screamed.

The sound came down through the ventilation shafts in broken layers—boots pounding over metal bridges, civilians shouting, alarm bells choking themselves hoarse. Somewhere beyond the sealed doors, soldiers were repeating the declaration Ivra had forced through the city’s rune network.

Nolan Vey stood between Xia Lan and the entrance with one hand pressed against his wounded side. Blood had soaked through the bandage beneath his coat and darkened the leather at his hip.