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But he wasn’t afraid ofme.

His face was going white with rage.

“Seph…” His voice was scraped raw. “What did he do to you?”

I froze. “…What?”

“You didn’t do that.” He shook his head, wild, horrified. “You couldn’t have. That— that was forced into you. Someone put that inside you.”

“I didn’t— I didn’t mean to, I didn’t—”

“You absorbed it.” His voice cracked. “Seph, you absorbedlightning. My lightning.”

“I know!”

The hunger inside me — the one I pretended wasn’t real — stretched and yawned like a waking beast.

Kieran took a step back.

One tiny step.

Not in fear.

In shock.

In devastation.

In the kind of anger that made the air vibrate.

But I didn’t see that.

I saw retreat.

He was scared.

“Seph… you’re not a null anymore.”

“I am,” I whispered. “I am, Kieran, I—”

“No.” His voice was fierce, trembling. “Nulls don’t steal power. They don’t take. What you did—somebodyengineeredthis. They did something to you.”

My stomach twisted.

“I didn’t want to,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to. It just—happened.”

Kieran’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle jumped.

I didn’t like the way he was looking at me.

“What did your father do to you?” he asked, voice low and uneven.

It wasn’t fear.

It was fury.

But I didn’t hear it that way.

A tremor ripped through my body.