Page 182 of GlitchBorn Heart

Kael is still cautious, his mouth tightening. “I can’t help getting the feeling there’s more manipulation than discussion going on.” He raises a brow at Jett.

I remain steady, at least on the surface. Beneath it, a sense of unease ripples through me, but I keep it buried where Kael can’t see. He needs my full trust, not my doubt. I want him to know that we’re unshakable as we step into the storm together. It’s no longer fear but awareness. Even now, I can feel him, the hum of our magic in perfect synchrony, two frequencies locked in like a satellite in orbit. The bridge between us isn’t just code anymore. It’s our souls beginning to intertwine.

I breathe in deeply and push calm through our tether, willing him to stay focused. He won’t lose control, he never does, but we can’t risk Jett ruining this.

I’m all too aware of Jett’s presence. It’s almost invasive. His SoulReaver magic constantly seeps through the air like my own, brushing against every thought, every feeling, studying our fears and desires as if they were data being harvested. It’s powerful, syncing to the rhythm of people’s connections. It feels like I’m an open book.

“The city is dark. Ember is finishing the last of the blackout criteria. Once she gives me confirmation, we’ll begin.” Kael hands Jett a comm and places one behind his own ear. “We all stay in constant communication.”

He walks closer, stopping just short of the screen. “We have about twelve hours that Vikktor won’t be watching. There’s no room for improvisation.”

Jett places the comm behind his ear and gives us a smirk. The air between the three of us is intense, history and tension all knotted into one giant ball of silence. Kael and Jett were childhood friends, like brothers once, just like he and Ash, but something has changed. They’re different.

A SoulReaver, a CoreCaster, and I’m the only person who makes either of their powers mean something.

I make the decision to speak to Kael one last time, just in case this all collapses. “Kael, can I talk to you for a minute? Just five minutes.”

“Of course, Taiyō.” He cuts me off with zero hesitation.

Jett turns to walk toward the cybernetics lab. Over his shoulder, he gives us a long look. “The coordinates are all set. I’ll need Lyra to be in DreamNet so I can find her when we begin. I’ll wait in here with the robots. Try not to blow up your lab.” He’s not funny, just arrogant, a man who knows he’s indispensable.

Kael turns and taps the comm, muting it as the doors to the cybernetics lab seal behind him. “Everything okay?” He touches the glass of the screens, exhaustion written across his face in heavy lines.

I pull the thread to the holo-program and appear in front of him, the sound of my bare feet against the floor breaking the quiet drone of the computer core. “You don’t have to pretend with me,” I say softly.

He reaches for me, his palm hovering just above my cheek. “Pretend about what?”

“That you’re fine,” I whisper. “That all of this isn’t costing you anything.”

For a moment, I think he’ll stay silent, that same mask he wears around everyone else locking into place. His shoulders lower a fraction, a telltale sign I’ve learned from him that means he’s letting me in.

“I’ve seen the files.” My voice is quiet.

He nods once and looks away over his shoulder. “Ember didn’t mean to leave them open. So please don’t be angry with her, but I saw everything.” I manage a half-smile, my heart feeling heavy at just how wrong I was about him. “You’ve been sending anomalies to Jett. You’re not executing them like Vikktor ordered. You’ve been relocating them,” I elaborate.

He exhales through his nose, slow and measured. “And here I thought you’d hate me for that, too.”

“Hate you?” I touch the back of his hand where it rests on my cheek. “Kael, I could never hate you for saving people.”

He finally looks at me, his eyes tense and dark, staring into mine. “It’s hard. Every name I send to Jett is a risk. Every time I move one, I have to make it look like an erasure, a deletion. To Vikktor, I’m still the loyal engineer cleaning up anomalies. To Jett, I’m the tool feeding him souls. Either side could turn on me.”

I squeeze his hand tighter. “I’m sorry.”

He laughs quietly, but he sounds broken. “I can’t save them all. Some are far too dangerous; they don’t want anything but destruction.” He steps away and runs his hands through his hair. They rest behind his head.

“Those, I have to let the CIC have and hope for the best. It’s taking a toll to continue to be the monster to decide someone else’s fate.”

The glow beneath his skin pulses faintly, his magic responding to his confession. I feel it so intensely, flowing between us, thrumming like a unified heartbeat.

I whisper softly, “You’re not a monster, Kael. I think you just might be the only one left in this city who remembers what being human really means. Empathy is honorable.”

He looks away again, out into the blackness of the darkened city. “You shouldn’t believe in me, Little Taiyō. I’ve done too many awful things in the name of this corporation.”

“You are who you are, Kael Ryudon, who Master Kenji taught you to be.” I step closer until our foreheads touch. “You’re not what Vikktor wants you to be.”

The silence weighs on both of us, heavy but very intimate. A flicker of his magic flares in those opaque eyes, painting my face in orange light.

Kael’s voice drops, almost reverent. “You almost make me want to believe that.”