They followed the coordinates.
A dusty trail in the outskirts of the city, far from code and Wi-Fi signals, where even the sky seemed unsure of itself. Trees loomed overhead, casting twitchy shadows over the gravel road. Cole drove in silence, his grip on the steering wheel tightening with every mile.
Lucy sat beside him, staring at her phone. The coordinates pulsed in red. Static buzzed faintly in her ears.
"What if this isn't Nova?" Cole finally said. "What if someone else is controlling her?"
Lucy didn't look away from the screen. "Then we find out who—and why."
The turn-off was almost invisible. Just two crooked wooden signs nailed to a tree, one of them hanging by a rusted nail. It read: Project Lyra.
Cole parked. "That sounds less like a cute star thing and more like a government cover-up."
Lucy's lips thinned. "Because it is."
He blinked. "Wait. You know this place?"
"I think so," she muttered, climbing out.
