Chapter 17: What Wakes Inside Her
They didn't hurt her.
That terrified her more than violence would have.
They observed.
Measured.
Tested.
Lights pulsed. Machines hummed. Symbols were projected on the walls that made pressure build behind her eyes.
Each session left her shaking.
Each session made the pull inside her stronger.
She began to feel spaces.
Distances.
The places between things.
She could close her eyes and know where every person stood in the room.
She could breathe and feel the architecture of the building.
And when her fear spiked—
The room responded.
Once, when a technician cut his hand, the blood did not fall.
It hovered.
Waiting.
The man in gray watched with something dangerously close to devotion.
"Do you understand now?" he asked.
Isla's voice shook. "I understand you're using me."
"Yes," he said calmly. "But using does not mean lying."
She turned on him.
"You said Rafe was alive."
"He is."
"Prove it."
He studied her for a long moment.
Then nodded.
They took her down three levels.
Through doors that opened only when she stepped near.
Through halls that felt… older than the rest.
They stopped before a glass wall.
Inside the room beyond it—
Rafe was chained to a chair.
Bruised.
Shirt torn.
Head bowed.
"Rafe," she whispered.
His head lifted instantly.
His eyes found her.
And everything in her broke open.
"Isla," he breathed.
She pressed her palm to the glass.
He surged forward, straining against the restraints.
"They didn't touch you, did they?" he demanded.
Tears slid down her face. "They're changing me."
"They don't get to," he said fiercely. "Whatever they tell you—"
"They're right," she whispered. "About something inside me."
His voice softened.
"There is something inside you," he said. "It's the part that chose to love. Don't let them turn that into a weapon."
The man in gray observed them quietly.
"You see?" he murmured. "Even now, he anchors you."
She turned to him sharply.
"Then you should be afraid," she said.
His eyes glinted.
"Oh," he replied. "I am."