MasukCHAPTER 27Camryn's POV"The rumors are true," I said finally, because there didn't seem to be much point in denying it when the amalgams had already exposed me. "I'm the heir.The last surviving member of House Gold's bloodline. The Houses destroyed my family twenty-five years ago for creating technology that could end the anomaly plague for good, and now they've figured out I'm alive and trying to finish what my family started."Whitney was quiet for a long moment, processing this information."That's either the bravest thing I've ever heard or the stupidest, and I honestly can't decide which. The Houses will throw everything they have at you to prevent that technology from seeing daylight. You realize that, right? They'll sacrifice entire sectors, kill hundreds of Hunters, and burn Lenore to the ground before they let you succeed.""I know. But I have to try anyway, because the alternative is letting thousands of people keep dying every year fighting a problem the Houses themselves
CHAPTER 26Camryn's POVA young woman approached from across the courtyard with purposeful strides, maybe twenty years old, with dark hair pulled back in a braid and sharp eyes that missed absolutely nothing as they took in our bloodstained appearance. She moved like a fighter, all controlled grace and coiled strength just waiting to be released, and something about the way she carried herself reminded me of Amon's calculated discipline."Camryn Chavez?" she asked, stopping a few feet away with her hands out, offering a handshake. "I'm Whitney Abraham. I've been looking for you."I tensed immediately, my hand moving toward the knife at my belt out of pure instinct. After everything that had happened tonight, after watching Amon get torn apart and nearly dying myself, I wasn't in the mood for more complications."Why? Who sent you?""Nobody sent me. I came because we have mutual friends who suggested I might be useful to your current situation." She glanced at Fabian briefly, then back
CHAPTER 25Camyrn's POVThey ran. Just vanished back into the fog like they'd never been there.I dropped to my knees beside Amon the moment they were gone, my hands shaking violently as I pressed them against his chest. The wounds were deep, four parallel slashes that had opened him up from shoulder to ribs, and the blood was coming too fast. His face had gone pale, his lips already taking on a grayish tinge that made my heart clench with fear."That was..." he managed, his voice weak but steady. "Absolutely terrifying and impressive. Remind me never to make you genuinely angry.""Shut up. Don't talk, don't move, just keep breathing." My hands were covered in his blood now, slick and hot, and I couldn't tell if I was actually slowing the bleeding or just spreading it around. "You're going to be fine, you understand me? You're going to be completely fine because I refuse to lose anyone else to this fucking city."Fabian dropped to his knees on Amon's other side, already pulling medica
CHAPTER 24Camryn POVThe sound cut off abruptly, like someone had flipped a switch, and I saw Elliot spin toward where his partner had been standing just a second before. "Danny! Danny, talk to me!" He started forward, breaking formation, and I wanted to yell at him to stop, but my throat had locked up with fear.Something grabbed Elliot from behind, moving so fast it was just a blur of motion in the fog. I caught a glimpse of too many arms and mouths, faces pressed into flesh that pulsed and shifted like it couldn't quite decide what shape it wanted to hold. Elliot's scream was cut short, more a gasp of surprise than a cry of fear, and then he was gone, dragged back into the fog by something I couldn't fully see."Amalgam!" Amon's voice cut through. "Class B minimum! Fall back, now!"But there was nowhere to fall back to, because these things were coming from every direction now, emerging from the fog.Not one amalgam, not even two, but at least four separate entities, each one a tw
CHAPTER 23Camryn’s POVWhen I arrived, the north gate was crowded, which immediately sent a jolt of alarm through me. Five Hunters stood in loose formation near the entrance, which was very unusual. Most deployments only required two or three people working together. Five hunters meant we were walking into something dangerous.Amon was there.I saw him before he saw me, standing apart from the others with that characteristic distance he always maintained in group settings. He was checking his weapons with focused precision, and something about watching him work through that familiar routine made a knot twist in my stomach. When he finally glanced up and our eyes met across the space between us, I watched his expression shift through several emotions too quickly to catalog. Relief, maybe, or worry, or something else entirely that disappeared before I could name it.Then Fabian stepped out from the shadows near the gate, and I knew with absolute certainty that tonight was going to be c
CHAPTER 22Camryn’s POVMike worked on Amon's leg while Fabian and I cleaned ourselves up.The venom had spread faster than expected. Dark veins had begun to branch from the bite marks, creeping up Amon's calf like black roots beneath his skin. He gritted his teeth as Mike applied a poultice that smoked when it touched the wound."This will slow it down," Mike said. "But you need proper medical attention. "I'll manage," Amon growled."You'll be nothing but vegetables in three days if that venom reaches your heart." Mike wrapped the leg in clean bandages. I sat across from them, still tasting blood from my nosebleed. The calibrator rested on the table between us, no longer glowing but still warm in my hands. Using it as a weapon had worked, but the side effects were sickening; my head pounded, and my vision kept blurring at the edges."You can't use that thing again," Fabian said quietly. He'd been watching me since we got back. "Not without proper training. It nearly killed you.""B







