Chapter 10 · Sparks in the Spine

"Hold him down or I'm going to accidentally slice his carotid!" Silas screamed.

He wasn't joking. The bone saw in his hand was buzzing like a pissed-off hornet, inches from Lucian’s throat. Lucian didn't even have the strength to flinch. He was pinned to the cold slab, shirtless, his shattered spine exposed like a ruined bridge.

Vesper’s boots slammed onto the edge of the table, her weight pinning Lucian’s shoulders. She leaned in, her breath hot against his ear, her voice a jagged whisper. "Stay still, Lucian. If you twitch, Silas loses a finger and you lose your head."

"I can't... feel... anything," Lucian gasped. His voice sounded like it was coming from the bottom of a well.

"That's the point!" Silas barked. He didn't look up from the cybernetic graft. He was sweating through his goggles, his hands shaking just enough to be dangerous. "The neural interface has to override the dead nerves. It’s not a massage, it’s a hostile takeover of your central nervous system. Now, shut up and bleed!"

Silas slammed the first titanium bolt into the vertebrae.

Lucian’s back arched. A sound ripped from his throat—not a scream, but a wet, guttural choke.