MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
"But I am just the mirror. You built a world of shadows, and now you're afraid because the shadows have a face."
Sterling’s hand went to a button beneath the table.
"Don't," Nevan warned.
Sterling pressed it anyway.
The floor beneath us groaned. The "Judas Protocol" wasn't a nuclear device; it was a gravity well—a localized dampener meant to crush the Sovereign’s signal and the people inside it.
The air became thick, heavy as lead. I felt the Heir shriek in my mind, the pressure threatening to collapse my lungs. The men at the table began to gasp, their chairs cracking under the sudden, artificial weight.