MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
The Echo was gone, but the air felt thin, the static still humming in the walls.
I lay in Nevan’s arms, gasping for air, my lavender eyes clouded with gold. "It’s... it’s not gone, Nevan. It’s just... deeper now."
Nevan looked at me, and I saw the terror he was trying to hide. He looked at Leo, who was standing at the edge of the room, watching us with a weary, ancient wisdom.
"He said it was in the code," Nevan whispered. "If it’s in the code, Gianna... if it’s in the blood..."