All Chapters of The cursed mate's return : Chapter 261 - Chapter 264

Maia's pov“Maia, don’t move.”Kael’s voice cuts through the noise before I even realize there is noise. Metal groans somewhere below us. People are shouting. The floor tilts just enough to throw Eli against the wall, his shoulder hitting hard.“I’m fine,” I say, already pushing myself upright.“You’re bleeding,” Kael says.I look down. He’s right. Blood runs down my forearm, warm and steady, dripping onto the floor. I don’t remember when it happened.“It’s nothing,” I say. “Where are we?”Eli laughs, breathless and sharp. “Middle of the city’s main broadcast hub. Or what’s left of it.”That gets my attention.I look around properly this time. The space is wide and circular, screens lining the walls from floor to ceiling. Most of them are cracked or flickering. Some are completely black. Cables hang loose like torn veins. Sparks jump from an exposed panel, hissing every time they hit the floor.“Why are we here?” I ask.Kael doesn’t answer right away. He’s watching the screens.“They

Maia's pov“All channels are open.”The words come from the ceiling, flat and wrong.I freeze with my hand still wrapped around Kael’s wrist. He looks at me, sharp and alert, already reading the shift in my face.“Say that again,” he says.“I didn’t say it,” I reply.The room trembles. Not violently. Not yet. Screens along the walls flicker awake one by one, no longer showing diagnostics or schematics, but faces. Thousands of them. Millions. Homes, streets, transit cars, offices. People staring back at us in real time.Eli swears. Loud. “That’s a public feed.”Kael’s grip tightens. “How public?”“All of it,” Eli says. “Every node. Every relay. There’s no filter.”My pulse spikes. I step forward without thinking.“Who opened it?” Kael asks.I already know.“I did,” I say.He turns to me sharply. “Maia.”“I didn’t mean to,” I add, but even as I say it, I feel the lie collapse. I did not stop it. I felt the lock break and I let it happen.A woman appears on one of the screens. She is cry