Page 171 - DivineSparkRisingFinal

Nicholas Boothman
“You don’t get to call it mercy when you steal
the right to be human,” she said. “You think control
edits the story? No. It erases it.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. For a moment his
certainty frayed. Then he exhaled, brushed his
thumb across the base of his index finger, once,
twice, and pressed a single key.
The screens went dark. The mimic spiral
dissolved into black, leaving only their reflections
in the glass.
Carolina held his gaze. She wanted to believe it
was over. But the precision of his breath, the calm
in his hands—it didn’t feel like surrender. It felt like
someone closing the door on his conscience.
On the drive back to Idanha-a-Velha, his words
echoed. You’ve simply left the story unfinished.
She tightened her grip on the wheel. If he wasn’t
done, none of them were safe.
Her phone buzzed. Henry’s name. She didn’t
answer.
When she reached the village he was waiting,
the carved token glinting in his hand.
“How did it go?”
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