Page 165 of GlitchBorn Heart

Jett clears his throat. “I was just saying that I’ve never really used my magic in this way before.” His tone for once is gentle. “But I know I can do it. The only loose end is LINK.”

I pull my hand back from Kael. “Loose end? You mean psychotic, deranged, unhinged, I could go on. He’s right. What if LINK fights back?”

They both look at each other with disdain, one daring the other to answer the question. “She will fight back. I know that for a fact.” Kael rises to the occasion. The way he answers my question is brutally honest, and I’m not quite sure I want to hear it out loud.

I feel my magic pulse in my eyes, reflecting just how terrified I am of moving forward with this. “And if the system rejects me? If she tries to keep me inside?”

“Then she’ll reject me too,” Kael answers. “Which technically, since I’m her creator, she can’t really do. She has to obey me as the controller.”

Jett shakes his head as if all this is giving him a headache.

“Good or bad, our magic abilities are combined now. I don’t know exactly why or how yet, but I’m working on that too. CoreCaster and EchoWeaver, add in SoulReaving, and that’s a pretty powerful trifecta.” He places each inked hand on the sides of my face. “Of course, right now, she’s probably listening to us, already rewriting programs to keep you inside, but I’ve got a solution for that too.” A failed attempt at a joke.

I shake my head, forcing his hands to fall. “Thanks, that’s not comfort. That’s a countdown.”

“Then I’ll rewrite the clock.” He doesn’t miss a beat.

I say nothing, his confidence clearly not being shared by me. Jett breaks in to alleviate the tension. “You said Eclipse Night, excluding the time at the gala, that would give us twelve hours to pull this off. How long do you really need?”

“Six to eight.” KaeI looks over at him. “Six hours to stabilize her signal, transfer it into the neural construct, and fuse it with your power field in the vessel. After that, two hours to maybe upload the neural memory strings and personality profiles.”

“And then I just wake up, and I’m myself again? Like I just took a long nap?” I ask, hoping for one shred of motivation to carry me through this.

He nods, though it feels more like a silent prayer than science. “If this works, you’ll wake up in the cybernetic frame. Real skin. Real nerves. Real breath. A body Vikktor meant for his soldiers, now used to hold your beautiful soul.” He grins.

I force a laugh to bubble to the surface. It barely makes a sound. “Laying it on a little thick, aren’t we? You really don’t know how to make this less complicated, do you?”

“No,” he admits. “But I can promise you this: When I say I’ll get you out, I don’t mean like downloading your data. I mean you. The woman who fought me, hated me, hell, maybe even saved me. The woman who made me believe I could be more than a tool built by another man.”

I look at him—study him. I’m not sure I want to be the one who changed him. But I do know I want to memorize every flicker of light that’s glowing in his eyes. I reach out, my fingers brushing the line of his jaw. “You’re staring.”

His smile widens. “So are you.” We stay put, lost in each other’s eyes, because right now I need the rest of the world to fade away.

Jett clears his throat nervously. “Okay then...”

“Wait, gala? What gala?” I snap out of Kael’s possessive gaze.

“I have to be at the Eclipse Gala.” Kael looks as if his words taste bitter coming out.

I stop. “You mean leave? Like you’re going to Vikktor’s party while your system is still compromised, and my brother is missing?”

“If I don’t show up, he’ll know something’s amiss. He already suspects I’m hiding you. He thinks you’re some sort of hologram I’m toying with. He just doesn’t know the extent of it yet.”

“If he ever figures it out, then you’re both dead,” Jett interrupts. His voice is stern; I can hear the warning in it.

Kael doesn’t move, still close enough to my projection that I flicker where our skin meets. “That’s why my plan is so brilliant, if I do say so myself. I’m not going without you,” he informs me.

I blink, taken aback. “What?!”

“You’re coming with me. Everyone brings PleazureHolos to these events, status symbols, walking works of art. Posturing for the elite. Vikktor will expect me to have one. And if you’re there with me, it will throw him off the scent. I can keep you close this way.”

“Kael, that’s insane. If he even looks too closely...”

“He won’t.” His tone leaves no room for debate. “I’ll code a shield into your basic program. You’ll read as a generic PleazureHolo, nothing more. If anyone asks, I’ll chalk it up to a new prototype I’m testing in the field. A more realistic, more human companion.”

I stare at him, torn between awe and fury. Everything about that statement is wrong, yet here we are. “So what?! I’m your fake date now?”

His lips twitch into a sinful smirk. “Something like that. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve escorted a beauty into a room full of beasts.”