Chapter 10 – Dangerous Alliances
The lab smelled of ozone and static.
Liora stood with her back to the containment chamber, her heartbeat still echoing in the sterile silence.
Inside the capsule, the captured Rift pulsed faintly—no larger than a coin, but alive in a way that made the air tremble.
It felt like standing next to a sleeping predator.
Aron leaned casually against the doorframe, but his eyes were sharp, calculating.
The faint glow from the console reflected in his irises, turning them into mirrors of violet light.
"Well," he said, breaking the silence.
"That was… enlightening."
Liora kept her voice flat. "You weren't supposed to see this."
"And yet," Aron countered, "here I am."
He stepped closer, the easy grin on his face failing to hide the spark of obsession beneath.
"You know this isn't just an anomaly. Whatever you just contained—
it's alive. And it responded to you."
The mark beneath her collarbone burned in agreement.
Liora's mind raced.
She couldn't let Aron know the truth about her rebirth, the tether, or the countdown to the end of the world.
But she also couldn't ignore the fact that he had skills she might need.
Aron's hacking abilities were legendary—he'd once cracked a Rift barrier that military scientists couldn't even map.
A dangerous ally.
Or a lethal enemy.
"What do you want?" she asked.
Aron tilted his head, considering.
"I want to know what's coming," he said simply.
"The Academy feeds us sanitized data. The government hides the real numbers. But you—"
His eyes flicked to the glowing capsule.
"You're holding answers they can't even imagine. And I want in."
Liora studied him in silence.
In her first life, she'd avoided Aron until it was too late.
When the outbreaks began, he vanished into the chaos, leaving behind only rumors of black-market tech and stolen data.
Some said he'd died. Others said he'd gone through the Rift and never returned.
Now, here he was, asking to stand beside her.
Trust was a luxury she couldn't afford.
But information… information was survival.
"Partnership," she said finally.
"Not friendship. Not loyalty. Information for information. Nothing more."
Aron's grin widened, sharp and wolfish.
"Cold. I like it."
He extended a hand.
Liora hesitated, then clasped it.
His grip was warm, confident—a handshake that felt like a spark catching dry tinder.
"Deal," he said.
---
Later, when she slipped out of the lab and into the quiet corridors of the Academy, the air felt heavier.
The mark beneath her shirt pulsed softly, as though acknowledging the bargain she'd made.
Partnership.
Another stone thrown into a river already rushing too fast.
---
The next day brought a thin winter sun and a summons.
Liora found Kai waiting outside the combat arena, a message blinking on his wristband.
His expression was tight, serious.
"The instructors want to see you," he said.
"Something about a performance review."
Liora frowned. "Performance?"
Kai's eyes searched hers.
"They're impressed, but… also suspicious. No one sets a record like that overnight."
Her stomach tightened.
The government watched everything inside the Academy.
Too much skill, too much knowledge—both could draw the wrong eyes.
"You didn't tell them anything, did you?" she asked.
Kai blinked, offended. "Of course not. But Liora…"
His voice softened.
"If something's going on, you can trust me."
The words landed like a blade wrapped in silk.
Trust.
Once, she'd trusted him with everything.
Once, that trust had ended with her blood on a rooftop.
Not this time.
"I'm fine," she said carefully.
"Really."
Kai's frown deepened, but he nodded.
"I'll wait for you."
---
The instructors' chamber was a cold, circular room lined with silvered panels.
Three officers in sleek black uniforms sat behind a glowing console.
Their insignias bore the sigil of the Orion Rift Authority.
"Cadet Kane," the lead officer began, eyes like polished glass.
"Your recent combat scores have attracted attention."
Liora stood straight, hands clasped behind her back.
"Thank you, sir."
The officer's gaze sharpened.
"Such rapid advancement is… unusual. Where did you receive this training?"
"Instructor protocols," she said evenly.
"Hours of practice."
"Hours do not create instinct."
The officer leaned forward slightly.
"Instinct comes from experience. And you fight like someone who has already survived a Rift incursion."
Her heart hammered.
"Do you deny it?" he pressed.
"Yes," Liora said without hesitation.
The officer studied her for a long, tense moment.
Finally, he leaned back.
"Very well. But know this, Cadet Kane: extraordinary skill attracts extraordinary scrutiny.
If you are hiding unauthorized technology or classified data, the consequences will be… severe."
The warning hung in the air like a blade.
"You are dismissed."
---
Outside, Kai was waiting, leaning against the wall with arms crossed.
His eyes searched her face the moment she stepped out.
"What happened?"
"Just questions," Liora said lightly, though her pulse still raced.
"They're curious about my training."
"And you told them…?"
"The truth," she lied.
Kai exhaled, his shoulders relaxing slightly.
"Good. But be careful. The Authority doesn't like unanswered questions."
Neither did he.
The concern in his voice was too familiar, too dangerous.
---
That night, Liora met Aron in a forgotten maintenance tunnel beneath the east wing.
Pipes rattled above them as he activated a holographic screen, layers of encrypted data spilling into the air.
"This," Aron said, tapping the display, "is everything the government's hiding. Rift activity reports, outbreak simulations, covert energy experiments.
And here—"
He zoomed in on a map pulsing with crimson dots.
"—are the anomalies spiking across the city. Most are suppressed before they breach, but the frequency is climbing. Fast."
Liora scanned the data, her stomach twisting.
The numbers were worse than she'd imagined.
If the timeline was accelerating this violently, the first major outbreak might arrive in weeks, not months.
Aron glanced at her, reading the tension in her eyes.
"You knew," he said softly.
Liora said nothing.
"You're not just another prodigy," he continued.
"You're ahead of the government, ahead of the scientists… maybe even ahead of time."
The mark on her chest flared, as if mocking her attempt to stay silent.
Aron's grin returned, sharper than before.
"Whatever you are, Kane, I'm glad we shook hands."
Liora met his gaze, her own cold and unflinching.
"This isn't a game," she said quietly.
"People will die if we fail."
Aron's smile faded into something almost solemn.
"Then we don't fail."
---
As they parted ways, Liora felt the tether tighten again—
not just the mark's invisible pull, but the weight of choices stacking like dominoes.
She had allies now.
Aron with his stolen data.
Kai with his quiet loyalty.
The Black Spiral with their cryptic guidance.
But allies came with risks.
And the closer they drew, the more dangerous the truth became.
Nine months had already become weeks.
The world's end was sprinting toward her.
And Liora Kane was running out of places to hide.