The numbers fluctuated.[KAI IDENTITY: 7.4%][ADRIAN VALE IDENTITY: 92.6%]Then shot up.[KAI IDENTITY: 8.1%]Adrian's knees threatened to buckle and Seraphine caught his arm."Adrian.""I'm fine.""You're bleeding."Wiping his nose, he discovered that the blood was not coming from his nose but from something deeper, something embedded in the cavity of his chest, pulsing with a life of its own.We already killed her once.Kael's voice echoed inside Adrian's head.Adrian stiffened."What did you hear?" Seraphine askedAdrian swallowed hard. Instead of the lie that had already formed on his tongue, he reminded himself of the etched tablets.CHOICE IS THE ONLY STABLE CONSTANT."Your name," Adrian said, thinking of the words Kael had said to him before he'd killed the man, "Kael said something about killing you."The silence that followed was heavy.Vaelric's expression shifted. Almost imperceptibly. A tightening around the eyes. A pause in the rhythm of his breathing.Not surprise. Fear.

The Gate remained closedAdrian still saw what looked like a seventeen-year-old version of Seraphine, with a silver blade in her hands and a future version of him behind her.You're remembering the wrong death.Adrian turned to check that Seraphine had not moved. She had gone pale and her hands trembled slightly."You remember something else."Seraphine swallowed. "I don't know if it's a memory.""Just tell me."Seraphine closed her eyes. "I'm holding the blade. You're in front of me." She paused, her voice breaking. "You're smiling."His heart skipped a beat. That didn't make sense."You said something," Seraphine whispered. "'Don't look at me when you do it.'""Do what?""I don't know."The System flickered[MEMORY FRAGMENT DETECTED.][SOURCE: SERAPHINE STERLING.][WARNING: MEMORY HAS BEEN ALTERED.]The words vanished. The tablet went dark, save for a single symbol in silver that took the shape of a blade. Adrian stepped forward."That's no coincidence." Ravian sounded tense. "Last

The broken fragment of the Dragon Core floated over the palm of Seraphine's mother.Adrian's blood knew as his mind didn't. The black shard in his chest slamming against his ribs. Once, twice.[DRAVARYN CORE RESONANCE DETECTED.][PRIMARY CORE: UNAVAILABLE.][FRAGMENT: AUTHENTIC.]"Where did you get that?"Seraphine's mother didn't answer. Did not reply. Instead she looked to her daughter without a trace of the hatred or the fear in her eyes, only grief."I tried to destroy it."Seraphine stepped forward."You said the third participant wasn't supposed to survive.""I did.""Who was the third participant?"Silence. In Adrian's gut he did not trust."Don't bother," Vaelric spoke from the floor, voice weak. "She won't tell you.""Than I shall ask a better question." Adrian turned to her. "Who survived."Her fingers wrapped around the fragment. Her eyes for the first time, showed fear."You."Adrian became rigid."That isn't what I meant.""I said it wasn't supposed to survive. I never sai

The second heartbeat sounded.ThumpAdrian stiffened. It had not originated in his heart.It had originated in Seraphine.She stood three paces away, a hand pressed against her sternum, her face drained of all color"Seraphine?"She looked up, and for a single, sickening moment, her silver eyes were not their usual shade"I heard it," she whispered.Dragon sight activated before he could stop it. The chamber grew sharper. Silver bloodflowed beneath her skin, and at her heart, the old silversign.But something else pulsed inside the sign. A second heartbeat, not of flesh, but of shape.Thump. SilverThump. Black.Thump. Something in between"Don't move," Adrian warned.Her eyebrow arched. "Orders, now?""When it will keep you on your feet," Adrian said."And if I refuse?""Then refuse while standing."The corner of her mouth twitched, then theheartbeat struck again, and she folded in on herselfAdrian caught her before she struck the floor, her fingers locking around his wrist"Adrian,

Now let me tell you exactly why the first one had to dieAdrian's own words echoed in the chamber, his lips not movingNo one spoke, the fragment in his chest pulsing once, twice, from inside like a fistAdrian looked down, the black glass shard in his hand warm enough to burn. Fine silver streaks like cracks of ice ran over its surfaceSeraphine took a step towards him"Stay there," he told herShe stopped, she wasn't afraid of him, she was afraid for him, and he could see it clearly. For months he had known that his memories were lies. Now he had to wonder if the man remembering them was one tooAdrian searched for the System, finding nothing, not even a lie"Why are you so quiet?" he muttered"It won't answer," said Subject Three. "The System doesn't know which Adrian is asking."Something in him twisted, a sharp, cold edge. "Then I will find out for myself," he said, slapping the shard onto the Orion tabletThe screen didn't light up blue or white, it went black, and a symbol burn