For a heartbeat I caught a sliver of calculation—not cruelty exactly, but a recognition that I was a variable and variables had uses.
"Cooperate now," he said softly.
"Help us, help Selene. Do that, and it is possible this will end cleaner."
There was no guarantee in his voice. Only possibilities measured in risk and control.
I let my hand go slack. The zero-resistance field hummed faintly at the edges of my teeth, an invisible force under everything. The Professor checked his instruments. Arthur adjusted a strap. We moved on.
Soon after, we reached the scene.
To be precise, the infirmary room.The last image before my mind retreated was Professor Dellaetrix bending close to Selene, whispering something like reassurance while Arthur ran a quick inventory with a device that spat quiet numbers into the air.
I thought of Valeria—wanted, fragmented, a system that had been both creator and saboteur—and of the thin, dangerous line between pity and power.
