Page 107 of GlitchBorn Heart

“Then what? Throw him into this prison with me?”

Anger. The words hit me harder than expected; I thought we were past this. Jett joins me at the wall. His jaw drops in awe of Lyra’s image. I force a calm I’m not really feeling. I wasn’t expecting this type of reunion.

“No.” I reach for patience. “To rescue him. To stop him from tearing the grid apart again. You know what’s at stake.”

She tilts her head, studying the three of us like an equation. “Do I? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like the stakes are only high for you...and Vikktor. I mean, I could be wrong, though. I’ve just been stuck in a black void for who knows how long with no communication and a visit from my brother, who wants to destroy everything he touches.” She looks over at Jett. “But don’t mind me.”

Ash stands and lets loose a laugh. This kind of attitude is right up his alley. “Hi, L!” He gives her a little wave. “Look, if you two could just fuck and get it over with, we’d all feel a lot better and could move this whole ‘we might get killed by Vikktor thing’ along much faster. Yeah?”

Lyra glares at him, though the faintest curl tugs at the corner of her mouth. “You’re insufferable.”

Ash spreads his arms wide, grinning. “Yeah, but I’m right. The tension in here could power the whole damn grid if we bottled it. Kaze, please, the soundcheck is over, Bro. It’s time for the headliner.”

I’m sweating from embarrassment. These two will be the death of me, especially in front of Jett. I give Ash a look so sharp it could slice steel. “Shut your mouth, Ash.” I clench my teeth. “This isn’t a joke.”

“Neither is your hard-on for a hologram,” Ash fires back with a wicked smile.

Lyra’s form flickers to life in front of us. Her full holographic detail fills in slowly, pixel by pixel. “See? Even your best friend thinks there’s something wrong with you.” She begins to walk the lab like she owns it.

For a heartbeat, the air is stale. I’ve never seen this Lyra before, and I really dislike it. I need to get her alone, make sure she’s functioning, not misfiring from corrupted code.

Jett slowly circles around her holo-image. He looks like he’s seen a ghost. In a way, he has.

He ignores all of us, locking his gaze on Lyra’s image. There’s something between curiosity and admiration hanging there. “So, she is real.” He touches her face, as if testing the image that stands before him. Lyra leans into it, proving she can feel his touch.

Someone is about to lose a fucking hand.

With unnerving calm, he speaks up. “She’s right, Kael. To her, this is more and more of a cell every day. You can’t control her like you do your data.” His eyes pulse once as he stares at her.

Okay, fine. One hand, and now I have to stab his eyes out.

“Not your concern, Novarre.”

Jett’s mouth curves. “Everything about her is my concern.”

Lyra crosses her arms, suspicious of his statement. “And you are?” She gives him a coy look like she already knows but wants him to engage.

Jett steps closer to her. I notice a ripple through the air around him like his presence is tugging on the energy she’s made of.

“Name’s Jett.” Then, with a tilt of his chin, he lifts her hand and kisses it gently. “But in the underground, they call me SoulReaver.”

He will pay for that. If it’s the last thing I ever do. No one touches what’s mine.

Her eyes widen. “You are THE SoulReaver? And you can just stroll into VikkCorp, their main lab, whenever you like and just say that?”

“That’s the point. They don’t see me. Not unless I want them to. That’s the gift of my magic, Lyra. I don’t just deal in souls. I can also erase myself from the record. Call it ‘bonus’ magic. StarFell wasn’t done with me, it had to chew me up and spit me out twice.”

I’m done. His dog-and-pony show won’t be enough to impress Lyra.

“Enough. You don’t parade your little revolution in my lab. You want anomalies? You got them. But she stays out of your games.”

“Funny. She doesn’t look like she belongs to you.” He gives her a wink and an edgy smile.

The air thickens, humming with tension. Ash chuckles nervously, breaking the silence. “Gods, this is better than one of my virtual reality shows. Next thing you know, somebody’s gonna start swinging. Hold please...I need to get snacks.”

But no one laughs. Least of all me.

Jett arches an eyebrow. “She’s not yours, Kael. She’s not mine either. She’s an anomaly. She’s power. You keep things like her. I set them free.”