Page 164 of GlitchBorn Heart

“And ‘said magic’ ”—his fingers air-quoted—“came online because of Lyra.” Jett’s eyes look at the wall of monitors, but she’s not there. “Fascinating. Then she’s your key. You’re her conduit. Therefore, if this extraction goes tits up, you could lose her, take her down with you. Maybe lose yourself too.”

Now I lean in, claiming dominance. “A risk I’m willing to take. Besides, I didn’t ask for any of this. It’s not like I woke up one morning and said, ‘I think I’m going to be magical today and walk around looking like a scary fire-breathing dragon.’ ”

“No, but you accepted it, Kael. You tapped into a power that responds to her. You merged with it. That’s not something you can just shut off.” He spits wisdom like venom, every word meant to attack, not teach. The kind of truth that only comes from someone who’s already made peace with the darkness in themselves. Well, just so happens my soul has also accepted the monster within.

Let’s dance, shall we, Jett?

I give him a heavy, calculated look. “She’s part of the system, and so am I now. If I can use that connection to pull her out, I will.”

“And if it kills you both?”

I smirk, but it doesn’t feel victorious. “Then at least Vikktor doesn’t win. It’s not going to happen. I reject that reality.”

Jett’s expression turns threatening. “Oh, it’s just that easy? Because you want it not to happen, it won’t? Some higher power than you is calling the shots here, Kael. I’ve seen men burn themselves alive thinking they could outrun fate. But you...you’re playing god in the name of love. There’s going to be a cost for that.”

I laugh maniacally. “Love? What the fuck is that even? It’s definitely not something I’ve experienced, ever. So, you don’t get to say that.” My feelings for Lyra are off limits.

Jett stares at me for a beat, then rises, turning toward my office. “Just remember, if she made you this powerful...imagine what she could do for others. Someone else, some other man, may just want that for himself. Someone more powerful than you.”

“Like you?” I question his intent.

Lyra holos back into the lab, walks to my office, and curls up on the sofa with her sketchbook. She doesn’t want to be alone again.

Jett leaves me standing in the dim light, and just him approaching Lyra makes my blood boil, my veins pulsing faint orange.

The unspoken truce between us is a weight in the air, uneasy, and one misstep away from war.

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

—Sun Tzu—The Art of War

63

BrainStorm

Playlist: Frozen (Tik Tok Remix) - Trap Remix Guys

Lyra

I’ve spent most of the morning being an obedient little anomaly for Kael, putting in the work, homing in on the technique of tampering my power so it can meld with his. I only stopped to pop into DreamNet to make sure Eli was okay, but today, he wasn’t there. The worry is nagging. He’s always there, self-soothing, dealing with his captivity. I remind myself that we will rescue him, whether he likes it or not.

I emerge from the cocoon of Kael’s office to the center of the lab. The whole room vibrates with nervous tension, like pulling back a rubber band. Will it snap or launch?

Kael and Jett sit around the center console swiping through blueprints and coded plans. I hear Jett’s deep, velvety voice. “The SoulReaver power isn’t really built for this, Kael. You’re asking me to do something I’ve never done: harvest and restore a soul in one session. That’s not just dangerous, it’s...” He notices me and stops mid-sentence, looking back down at the plans.

“Sorry to interrupt.” I begin to join them at the console.

Kael comes over and grabs my hand, just like he always does. He’s trying to be a gentleman, always coming to my rescue, but it just stirs the notion inside me that it’s not needed. Women don’t always want the hero; sometimes we need the villain to join us in burning it all down.

“Taiyō, how are you feeling? You’re probably pretty drained from being in holo-form. Why don’t you join us through the window?” He kisses my forehead lightly.

“I’m okay for now. I’m not that fragile, just worried.” I give him my best attempt at a calming glance and a smile. “I can’t find Eli. He’s not in DreamNet, and I’m not really feeling his presence in the grid.”

Kael glances over to a monitor in the corner. “His vitals are right there. They look normal.” He reassures me. “Nothing out of the ordinary. You know I’d tell you if something wasn’t quite right.”

Oh, Kael, always the protector. He doesn’t even like my brother. He doesn’t have to say it out loud. Eli is the one person that could ruin everything Kael has built, yet here he is, monitoring him daily, just to calm my anxious heart.

“Jett and I are just going over a few loose ends, brainstorming.” He gives him a look like he’s telling him to fall in line.