Chapter 8 · Burn a Memory to Keep a Heart

"It's her!" Leo's hand slammed against the glass and his finger stabbed straight at me. "It's her, don't you get it? She's the one who pulls us back!"

The words hit like a slap.

Cold shot right up my spine.

"What?" I choked out. "Leo, what are you saying?"

Dax's grip locked around my wrist before I could get to the tank. His palm was scalding. The tribunal lock between us flared white-hot.

"Don't move," he snapped at Leo. His eyes never left me. "Say that again. Slow."

Leo was shaking so hard the fluid sloshed. His eyes were glued to my wrist. To the mark.

"The reset mark," he gasped. "It's on her. Not you. Every time we die, she drags us back. She's the trigger."

"Bullshit," Dax said.

But his voice went dead quiet. That dangerous quiet.

"I'm not lying!" Leo screamed. The monitors around his tank spiked, shrieking. "You put it in me! You put the anchor in me and you tied it to her!"

Dax flinched. Like he'd been punched.

I stared at him. "Dax?"

"I don't know what he's talking about," he said. Too fast. Jaw tight enough to crack.