Mika stumbled, clutching her head as she tried to wrench free of my influence. I let the Flux drop, my body collapsing under the strain.

“Sia!” I choked out, barely able to lift my head.

She was there, suddenly at my side, her dagger drawn. Her presence was a lifeline, but I could feel her fear—the pulse of her heartbeat like a drum against my senses.

From somewhere deeper in the hotel, Conrad’s voice carried, calm and almost amused. “So they finally couldn’t hold back.”

Sia knelt beside me, her hands trembling as she tried to help me sit up. “Kyon, stay with me,” she whispered. Her voice was steady, but her eyes betrayed her terror.

I tried to speak, but my throat was dry. The strain of using PsychoFlux had taken everything out of me.

“We have to move,” she said. “Before the hunters find us—or Conrad sends someone worse.”

I nodded weakly, leaning on her for support as she pulled me to my feet. My legs felt like jelly, but I forced them to move.

That’s when it happened—EchoFlux surged to life within me, unbidden, wrapping my mind in an unrelenting web of sensation.

A pulse. Sharp. Steady. Distant.

The hunters.

I couldn’t see them, but I could feel their presence—a cluster of cold intent moving systematically through the hotel’s lower floors. They were professionals, methodical in their sweep, but their purpose was clear as day: find and kill.

“They’re here,” I whispered, my voice ragged.

Sia stiffened. “How close?”

“Not close yet,” I said. “First floor… maybe second. Moving slow, clearing rooms. But they’re coming.”

Her grip on my arm tightened. She knew as well as I did what that meant. Time was short, and staying here wasn’t an option.

Mika groaned, drawing our attention. She was on her knees, shaking her head as if trying to dislodge the remnants of my PsychoFlux attack. Her claws scraped weakly against the floor, but her eyes burned with hate.

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“She’s getting up,” Sia muttered, her voice sharp with anger. She raised her dagger, her intent clear.

“No,” I said, barely able to find the strength to hold her back. “Don’t.”

Sia turned to me, incredulous. “Kyon, she’ll kill us the second she can stand.”

“Not yet, she won’t,” I said, my voice hoarse. “She’s broken, Sia. Whatever I did—it’s going to take her time to recover.”

“And if she does?”

I hesitated. I didn’t have a good answer. But something about finishing her off now felt wrong. Maybe it was guilt, or maybe it was the faint echo of her fractured mind still lingering in mine.

Sia hesitated, her dagger hovering just above Mika’s neck. Finally, she pulled back, muttering a curse under her breath.

“We need to go,” she said, dragging me toward the door.

I staggered beside her, my EchoFlux still pulsing faintly. The hunters were moving steadily, floor by floor. At this rate, we had minutes, maybe less, before they reached us.

But then I felt something else—a new pulse, sharper and closer. Vampires.

I glanced at Sia, my chest tightening. “Conrad’s sending more.”

Her expression darkened. “Figures.”

Far above us, Conrad watched everything unfold through the hotel’s surveillance system. His eyes gleamed with interest as he leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers.

“Elijah,” he said, addressing the tall vampire standing at his side. “What do you think?”

Elijah Gerard, ever composed, studied the monitor with a faint frown. “He’s unstable. PsychoFlux is a volatile power, even for seasoned users. For someone like him… he won’t last long.”

Conrad smiled. “Perhaps. But what potential, don’t you think? To break Mika so thoroughly…” He chuckled softly. “I can’t let him go.”

“Then why not capture him yourself?” Elijah asked, his tone laced with disdain.

“Patience,” Conrad said, his smile widening. “Let the others soften him up first. And let’s see how far he’s willing to push himself.”

Elijah didn’t respond, but his gaze lingered on the screen.

Conrad turned to another monitor, showing a group of vampires assembling on a lower floor. “Send them after him,” he said. “I want him alive. Sia, too, if possible.”

“And the hunters?”

Conrad’s smile faded. “They’re a nuisance. Keep them busy. But Kyon is mine.”

Back on our floor, the air felt heavier with every passing second. My breathing was ragged, my legs threatening to give out with each step.

Sia glanced at me, her expression tight. “We can’t take the elevators. Too risky.”

“Stairs,” I said, though the thought of descending even one flight made my stomach churn.

We reached the stairwell door, and Sia pushed it open cautiously, her EchoFlux undoubtedly scanning for threats. I could feel the faint tremors of her pulse syncing with mine, a shared awareness that steadied my nerves.

“Clear,” she said.

We slipped inside, moving as quickly as my weakened body would allow. The stairwell echoed with every step, a hollow reminder of how exposed we were.

“They’re getting closer,” I murmured, my EchoFlux picking up the hunters’ methodical progress.

“And so are the vampires,” Sia added, her tone grim.

I nodded, gritting my teeth. Between the hunters and Conrad’s operatives, our chances of escape were shrinking by the second.

Sweat dripped down my temple as we descended another flight. My breaths came shallow, each step harder than the last. Sia kept looking back at me, her concern unspoken but palpable. I didn’t have the energy to reassure her.

The hunters’ cold precision burned at the edge of my senses, and my thoughts began to fray. How long could we keep this up? Even if we reached the lobby, the building was swarming.

Sia’s grip on my arm tightened as we reached the next landing. “This floor might be safe,” she whispered. “We need to buy some time.”

“Safe?” I rasped, the word bitter in my mouth. There was no safety here, not with Conrad’s gaze always on us.

“Safer than standing in the open,” she countered.

Before I could respond, a faint rumble shuddered through the walls. It wasn’t an explosion, not quite, but it felt deliberate. The hunters were using some kind of equipment—a tool to flush us out, maybe, or something worse.

Sia cursed softly, glancing down the stairwell. “They’re driving us toward the vampires,” she realized. “Conrad’s playing us.”

She wasn’t wrong. I felt it too—the tightening noose, the inevitable trap. And yet, we couldn’t stop moving.

“We’ll figure it out,” I said, though I wasn’t sure if I believed it. The words were weak, just like me. But they were all I had.

Sia didn’t answer, but her hand brushed against mine, a fleeting touch that steadied me just enough to take the next step.