The lab was silent, but the tension pressed against my chest like steel. Vorde lay crumpled a few feet away, yet I could feel the enemy pulsing inside him. Every instinct screamed, move, fight, save him, but my fingers shook on the console. Pride and fear collided, raw and sharp. I was supposed to control everything, everything, yet here I was, powerless in the face of a choice I didn’t want to make.
Viole clutched my arm. “Veronica, you have to.” Her voice trembled with fear and desperation. Protectiveness lanced through me. I can’t lose her, not now.
I forced my eyes back to Vorde. The man I loved, or thought I did, was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating echo. Every heartbeat twisted with jealousy. Not at Viole, not at anyone, but at this enemy, daring to use him against me. You wil
