All Chapters of The Art Of Dying : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

AXEL'S POVThe between-world space was exactly what it sounded like—a place that existed in the cracks of reality. A nowhere zone where the administrators' surveillance was weakest and we'd stumbled into it purely by luck, running from the enforcer drones until we'd crashed through what looked like a wall of fog and found ourselves here.It was grey like, everything was so grey. The ground, the sky, the air itself, like someone had drained all the color from existence and left behind only the ghost of a world.But it was safe, relatively. The drones couldn't follow us here because their sensors couldn't penetrate the between-space so we had time to breathe, to rest and process what had just happened.Except nobody was processing. Everyone was just... sitting and staring at nothing. The weight of Bree's confession, Mia's reaction, and the team's fracture pressing down on us like a physical thing.I looked around at what remained of our group. Walter and Willow sat together, talking in l

ERINA'S POV"No," I said. The word came out fierce, and harder than I intended. "Absolutely not."My shadow fiends formed a tighter barrier around Bree, pushing back the wraiths with renewed aggression. I could feel the strain—Dracula's pendant was burning against my chest, the power flow almost too much but I didn't care."Erina, let go," Bree whispered. Blood was spreading across her chest from the wraith's claws. "Please. Just... let me go.""Not happening." I looked up at Axel. "Help me get her out of here."He didn't hesitate. Between us, we hauled Bree to her feet as she was limp, unresisting, making it harder than it should have been."Fall back!" Axel shouted to the others.We fought our way out of the clearing. My shadow fiends covered our retreat, throwing themselves at the wraiths with suicidal abandon. Each one that fell bought us seconds to run.The wraiths followed, their screeches echoing through the grey fog. But they were slower now, more cautious. The flames from Ax

WALTER'S POVI waited until Mia had disappeared into the fog completely, until her footsteps had faded and the grey silence of the between-space had swallowed her whole. Then I turned to the rest of the team."We need to talk," I said. "Without Mia."Axel's eyes narrowed. "About what?""About Bree. About whether she stays on this team or not." I kept my voice neutral, factual. This wasn't personal, it was tactical. "We're about to assault the Core—the most heavily defended position in the entire system. We need everyone focused, everyone trustworthy, everyone functioning as a unit.""Bree is all those things," Erina said immediately."Is she? Because from where I'm standing, she's a liability. She just tried to kill herself and she's been lying to us for weeks. And she's fractured our team right when we need to be strongest." I looked at each of them in turn. "Can any of you honestly say you trust her completely now? That you'd bet your life on her having your back?"The silence that

MIA'S POVThe inside of Bree's tent was cramped and dim, lit only by a small phosphorescent stone she'd found somewhere in the between-space. It cast everything in a sickly green glow that made the shadows dance across the fabric walls like living things.Bree sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around them. She looked small and diminished. Nothing like the confident, sarcastic girl I'd met weeks ago. Nothing like the telekinetic powerhouse who could lift three people at once or hold back a collapsing building with her mind.She looked up when I entered, and the hope in her eyes was painful to see. It was raw and desperate and so fragile I could have shattered it with a word."Mia," she breathed. "I didn't think you'd... I mean, I thought...""I'm not here to forgive you," I said, cutting her off before she could build up false hope. I needed to be clear about that. Needed her to understand what this was and what it wasn't.The hope dimmed. She nodded, looking down

MIA'S POVThe city knew exactly what to show me.I blinked and suddenly I wasn't in the plaza anymore. I was in a small house. It was Cozy and warm. Sunlight streaming through windows that overlooked a garden full of flowers I didn't recognize but somehow loved.Axel was in the kitchen, cooking. Actually cooking, wearing an apron that was slightly too small, flour on his cheek. He looked peaceful and unburdened. The haunted look he'd carried for ninety-nine years was gone, replaced by simple contentment."Hey," he said, noticing me. "Food's almost ready. Why don't you relax? You've been working too hard on that manuscript."I looked down. There was a laptop on the table in front of me. I open to a document, and saw my book. The one I'd always wanted to write and it was really,really good.*This could be yours,* the city whispered. *Peace, safety and love without the constant threat of death. Isn't this what you've been fighting for?*"It's not real," I said, but my voice was weak.*I