Page 172 of Fractured Loyalties
"Don't speak to her," I say.
He chuckles. “Still so possessive. It was always your flaw.”
Kinley’s weapon shifts half a degree, his eyes narrowing on Volker. For a moment, the air thickens between them—betrayal hanging like smoke.
"Kinley," Volker says, his voice dipping low, laced with dark amusement. "I see you've chosen your side. How...disappointing."
Kinley meets his gaze, unflinching. "It was never a choice. You were always the monster here."
Volker's smile is a blade. "We'll see about that."
"There are more guards coming," I warn. "It's going to be bloody, messy. You should be elsewhere; you don't want your fancy suit ruined."
Volker tilts his head. "I am exactly where I need to be. And so are you. You’re inside the box now. I don’t need to lock the doors. You closed them for me."
Something shifts behind him. A subtle movement—two figures rounding a hallway, just shadows for now.
I pull Mara behind a crate. Kinley fires first, dropping one. I take the second. A third appears, gun raised. My shot catches him in the throat. He collapses against the wall with a wet thud.
Volker hasn’t moved.
"Run," I tell Mara.
She hesitates. Eyes locked on Volker. Then she bolts, Kinley close behind her, covering her retreat.
As Kinley vanishes down the corridor with her, Volker calls after him, his voice echoing like a promise in the dim light: "We will meet again, Kinley."
I stay.
Volker doesn’t flinch, doesn’t blink.
"She’s already halfway ruined," he murmurs. "You're just finishing what Caleb started."
That breaks something clean in me.
I surge forward. He retreats only one step, raising a hand not in defense but in command.
"No," I snarl. "Not this time. We're not playing your games. You’ve already taken too much."
His smile is small. Pleased. “Then ask, Elias. Whatever it is, you’ve earned the answers.”
"Why Vale? Why Toma? Why dig through my entire life just to put me on your leash? Surveillance, leaks, data drops—what’s the endgame here?"
His eyes glitter, but there's no warmth in them. "You already know. You just haven't accepted it. You're not a liability to erase, Elias. You're a legacy to reclaim."
"You used Jori. Is he even aware of what you’ve turned him into? Does Vale know he’s still alive?"
He shrugs. "Vale knows only what he needs to. Jori’s loyalty is absolute now. As yours once was, Eidolon."
My jaw tightens. "Don’t call me that name."
"Eidolon," he says softly. Like a prayer. "Do you think you can outrun what you were made to be? All I’ve done is light the path back to it."
More guards spill in, armed. I raise my gun, firing. One down. Two. The hallway turns red.
Volker steps back into the smoke. "You can't kill the mirror, Elias. Only delay the reflection."
I shoot again, but he’s gone.
