The approach to Meridian Island was different this time. No stealth, no subterfuge, no hiding in the shadows. Jaxon walked up to the main entrance in broad daylight—or what passed for broad daylight on an island perpetually shrouded in fog—and knocked on the door like he was visiting a neighbor.
The door opened on its own. The corridor beyond was lit with that same sickly green glow, the walls pulsing with the stolen life of extracted systems. Husk guards lined the hallway, but they didn't move. Victoria had given them new orders: let him through.
【She's confident. That's either good or terrible. I can't decide which.】
"Both," Jaxon muttered.
The corridor led down, just as before, into the ritual chamber. But the chamber had changed. The twelve pedestals were arranged differently now,
