Page 127 of GlitchBorn Heart

I drop my gaze to my sketch. My hand trembles. The ugly truth spills from my lips. “I’m scared, Kael. I don’t want to be trapped here, turned into a human calculator, but I also don’t want to die,” I whisper, trying to force a chuckle.

His smile is faint but real. “See? Fear is good. That means you’re still human.”

I change the subject quickly to avoid talking about it further. Another time. “So, the decor.” I smile coyly. “It’s very...dark. No clutter, no softness?” I glance over at the wall of weapons. “Very bachelor-y.”

Kael lets out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, well it’s me. Minimalist, modern, my job is complicated. I don’t really want my home to be.” He’s still lounging next to me, legs spread, twirling the ice in his glass. My eyes can’t help but wander over his body.

I go back to drawing and am hit with the hard realization that the graphite smudges feel different; they’re dull on the tips of my fingers. Kael notices immediately that my mood has changed. He doesn’t panic, but he’s fascinated.

He sits up and reaches for me. “Tell me your thoughts.” He brushes my cheek with his knuckles. “I’m sorry but I can’t resist touching you.”

My sigh is heavy. “Sensations mostly. Some things feel...less?” I can’t quite communicate the feeling. I clutch my chest. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t even feel right anymore. I feel...deadened. Like my magic is slipping, like my feelings are being pulled from me. My memories fading. My soul disappearing.”

His expression hardens. He moves even closer to me, his arm resting behind me on the back of the sofa now. “Then I’ll make sure you feel everything, every day. My hands, my mouth, my body. Whatever it takes to keep you here with me.”

I tilt my head on his arm. He strokes my hair, brushing it through his fingers. There was a time that his touch would have infuriated me, but that feeling is disappearing, just like my humanity.

“I’m sure it’s temporary. Once I get you connected to the system again, you should feel better.”

I choose to ignore his reminder that I have to go back in to get out. That logic makes no sense to me, even if I’m half-computer at this point.

The words he just said echo in my mind: build a body to catch you. He’s talking about the cybernetics project he’s been working on. The pile of shiny white robots that hang on hooks in the farthest corner of the lab. I don’t want to be plastic.

I place the sketchbook down on his coffee table. “Wait,” I whisper, staring at him. “Even if you build something like that, how would I even move into it? I’m not code you can just copy and paste. I’m...” I falter, hating how fragile I sound. “I’m not really sure what I am right now.” My brows wrinkle.

Kael leans forward. “That’s where Jett comes in.”

I blink. “Jett?”

“He’s not just a revolutionary. His magic, SoulReaving, it’s not just taking. He can thread the soul back into a vessel. Anchor it where it belongs.” Kael’s voice is careful, steady, explaining it to me like I’m a child.

“When the time comes, I can build the body, but only Jett can make sure you, the you that matters, lands inside it.”

My chest tightens. “So, my life depends on him?”

Kael’s jaw ticks. “Your life depends on me. Jett is just the tool to make sure my plan works.” His confidence—or is it arrogance? Either could end me.

I shake my head, unsettled. “You talk like you own me. Like I’m yours to keep alive.”

His lips curve, dark amusement curling at the edges. “Aren’t you?”

I bite down hard on my lip. “What if he decides not to help me? What if Jett thinks I’m a threat? He already hates how human LINK is becoming. How am I any different?”

Kael wraps the lotus blossom around the back of my neck, bringing me into him, collapsing the space between us. His shadow falls over me, drowning out any doubts. “Jett won’t refuse. Because he knows what you are to me.” His fingers graze my chin, tilting my face up. “And because he owes me more than you can imagine. Besides, he wants your brother and all that power on the side of the rebellion.”

I swallow hard, the weight of his stare pinning me. “So, my exit...” I don’t even know what to call it. “You’ve already decided how it’s going to happen?”

“Yes.” His answer is unflinching and absolute. “You’ll have a body, Lyra. And I’ll make damn sure you feel alive in it.”

I stare at Kael, his words still scraping at my mind. “What do you mean, ‘Jett owes me?’ Like, what does he actually do?” I press, more insistent now.

Kael doesn’t hesitate. “Jett...” He blows out a puff of air as if the question is complex. “His gift is different. He can retrieve and revive the soul.”

The way he says it makes my skin crawl. “Retrieve? That sounds like stealing.”

“Not stealing,” Kael adds. “Think of it like...threading, like how you weave through my system. Pulling the essence of someone into his hands, holding it steady, and placing it where it belongs. Without him, you’d fracture if I tried to transfer you. Code can’t hold a soul. Hardware can’t hold a soul. But Jett...” He pauses, eyes filled with certainty. “Jett can.”

I rub my arms, unsettled. “And it doesn’t hurt? When he does it I mean?”