Chapter 20 · The Witnesses Beneath the Archive

"Don't let it fall!" I lunged for the red recording shard as it dropped toward the breach.

Kane caught my wrist before I could reach it.

The pull below hit like a hooked chain. My boots skidded across the council floor, and the black opening snapped at my knees. The shard spun above the gap, its red light flashing through the dark.

"Let me go!"

"Not a chance."

"The recording's going to be swallowed!"

"And so are you if you take one more step."

His fingers locked around my wrist. Hot. Hard. His other hand pressed against my back, holding me upright while the breach dragged at my coat.

Behind us, Councilor Venn shouted, "Hold her! She's feeding it!"

"Try it," I yelled over my shoulder. "Put your hands on me and see what your witnesses say when the whole city hears that recording."

Venn's face tightened. "There are no witnesses left."

The breach roared beneath me.

That sentence hit harder.

Kane's grip went still. "What did you say?"

Venn recovered too fast. "I said the evidence is gone. The woman's unstable. You heard the breach calling through her."

"You said witnesses," I snapped. "Plural.