Chapter 17 · Kill Order

"All hunters, converge. Target Mara Venn is confirmed as the source. Lethal force authorized. Repeat, lethal force authorized."

The council seal slams across every screen in the core and my name burns under it in red.

My wrist mark sears. Like a hot wire straight through the skin.

"Mara, get down!"

Dax yanks me sideways. A hunter drone screams down the shaft and vaporizes the crystal where my head was half a second ago.

Shards rain. Hot on my neck.

"They're not even doing trials anymore?" I snap. "They just put a bounty on me and call it justice?"

"They called it containment," he says.

His hand's still locked around my forearm. Too tight. Too hot. Not letting go.

"You're the disaster now. That's how they sell it. That's how they get every gun in Kestrel to point at you."

"So we just stand here and die?" I jerk free. "No. We move. Now."

The whole spine's waking up. Boots on metal. Drones buzzing. That council voice again, flat and everywhere at once.

"Mara Venn, surrender the anchor. Ten seconds to comply before we fire."

"Yeah? Come take it!" I scream at the ceiling.