My blood drips into the neon gutters. I never expected to die on this planet.
The dark red trickles down my arm, pooling on the grip of my blaster.
I was hired to watch: Shadow her, report to her father, then vanish like a ghost—
The whole mission a secret.
But in the rain-soaked alleys beneath the old maglev tracks, the Censors appeared. One flash of a pulse rifle, one split-second choice, and now two bodies bleed out in the gutter behind us.
Now I’m running from the ███████ authorities with Taliah Taiberos—the senator’s daughter.
She was never supposed to know I existed. A girl with wildfire hair and rebellion in her eyes. Her hand is in mine, and every step we take together could be our last.
Because of the data token I ripped from the dead man’s fist.
I haven’t dared look at what’s on it. I only know the Censors would kill to get it back. But the mystery nags at me.
Taliah wants to use it to destroy her father’s empire.
I just want to survive.
Stop the bleeding. Or I’m going to be the next corpse face-down in the gutter.
The city is a labyrinth, and every shadow hides a hunter—their mirror visors dotted with rain. With every heartbeat, I feel the net tightening. I’m no longer a bystander. I’m implicated.
I’ve touched the secret. Been tainted by it.
And on a planet where censorship rules…
Secrets get buried.
