Page 108 of GlitchBorn Heart

“Free? I’ve seen your kind of freedom. It looks a lot like war dressed up in motivational speeches.” I step beside Lyra protectively.

“Maybe.” He steps back. “And your kind of order looks a lot like a prison. At least my people get a choice.”

Ash claps his hands together, cutting through the growing storm. “Bravo! Would you two just whip ’em out and measure already? Save us all the theatrics.”

Both Jett and I turn our glares on him.

“What?! I’m just saying, Lyra’s trapped in the system, Eli’s tearing holes in reality, Vikktor’s playing god, and the two of you are locked in a dick-measuring contest. Maybe channel that energy into, I don’t know, not getting us all killed?” Ash adds.

Ember snorts, quickly covering it with a cough.

I’d win by the way...the contest...

“He’s right. You’re too busy trying to stake claims while Vikktor tightens his noose around all of us.” Jett steps closer, his presence electric, like he carries the buzz of the rebellion in his veins. “You may have her in your system now, but the moment she realizes what you are, what you’ve done, she’ll choose. And it won’t be you.”

I refuse to let his words strike true. “Oh, and you think it will be you? Or are you hoping it will be you?” I wince, the thought sickening me. “You’re welcome in my lab as long as you’re useful, Novarre. But don’t mistake that for trust. And don’t mistake her for yours...ever!”

“Hello! I’m right here,” Lyra reminds us, “I can hear you. No need to talk about me like I can’t. I may be a mere woman among all you ‘powerful’ men, but I can make my own choices and speak for myself. Thank you very much.”

Of course she can, it’s what I admire most about her. Assertive. Resolute. Bold. I move back slowly. My eyes linger on her, and for the first time since she appeared in my system, doubt creeps in. Not about saving her, it’s never about that, but about keeping her.

“Lyra, my office, please?” I invite her with an open hand. She follows me in, and I shut the door. I lean against the top of my desk to ease the tension.

My hand twitches against the glass. “What’s the deal, Taiyō? Why all this attitude?” My voice cracks but remains honed. “I’m not Vikktor. I’m the one keeping you alive and trying to get you out.”

Lyra leans closer, her holo-form sparking faintly at the edges. “And I’m supposed to trust that? Trust you?”

The moment of silence between us feels hostile. I notice a tightening in my chest I’ve never experienced before: Betrayal?

Jett barges in like he owns the lab. The door creaks open, his voice cutting through the dead silence.

“She’s right not to trust so easily.” He isn’t smiling, but there’s something softer there. “Sorry to interrupt, but I have a duty to protect all anomalies, Kael.”

The fucking audacity.

Lyra blinks, startled, realizing that Jett has also locked her in his sights. Just not for the same reasons as me.

Jett’s voice lowers. “You’ve survived inside the machine this long, Lyra. That makes you more than an anomaly. It makes you a powerful symbol for U21s, therefore my responsibility.”

My shoulders stiffen, fingers clenched at the way he’s looking at her, not like data, not like code, but like a person he admires.

Lyra’s gaze flicks between us. “Funny. That’s the first thing anyone’s said that doesn’t make me feel like a test subject.”

My pulse pounds in my ears as I bury my fury. “Stay focused. This isn’t about symbols. It’s about survival. If Eli destabilizes again, none of this matters.”

But Jett’s faint smirk tells me he’s already made his point; he’s marking his territory.

And Lyra’s silence? It confirms one of my worst fears. She’s interested in what he has to say.

42

ThePlan

Playlist: Industrial Cyberpunk – TAVAmusic

Lyra

The lab is tense, the servers humming like they already know what’s about to happen. Kael stands at the head of the central console, dressed in his black joggers, stripped of his usual corporate armor. His presence fills the space with determination, regardless of Jett’s icy cold stare. The five of us gather around the large monitor displaying a vintage augmented reality called NeoChicago.