Chapter 11 · Kane Remembers Her Killing Him

Kane's gun was already up before Elara registered he'd moved.

She froze. Not because of the barrel aimed at her chest. Because of his eyes.

Something was breaking open behind them. Something bad.

"Kane." Her voice came out steady. Hands up, palms out. "Whatever you're seeing right now—"

"Shut up." His voice was flat. Dead. "Don't fucking move."

Nora was still crouched by the edge of the platform, one hand pressed against the cold metal of the dead train. Her head whipped between them. "What the hell is happening?"

Elara didn't answer. Couldn't. Because she saw the exact moment the memory locked into place.

Kane's jaw went tight. His breathing changed. And his eyes—his eyes went somewhere else. Somewhere that already happened.

Somewhere she killed him.

"You stabbed me," he said. Quiet. Almost conversational. "Right here." His free hand touched his side, just under the ribs. "Angled up. I bled out on the stairs outside the transit authority building. Took four minutes."

Elara's stomach dropped. She knew that loop. Seventh reset. She'd been desperate, half-crazy, convinced Kane was working with Silas. She'd been wrong.

"That wasn't—" She stopped. Started again. "I didn't know. I thought you were the one who—