OPERATION WINTERSPINE (Strings Between Us Book 2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: OF FIREWALLS, GHOST NAMES, AND THE BOY WE TRIED TO UNMAKE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: OF FIREWALLS, GHOST NAMES, AND THE BOY WE TRIED TO UNMAKE

RIYEE's POV

We stayed for dinner because we still had questions.

Not about food. About truths. About what kind of people we had become—after being shaped by the ones who thought they owned our stories.

After the meal, we helped the younger ones get back to their rooms. Brixter refused to let go of Saichel's hand. Loti sleepily leaned against my shoulder like she always used to, whispering that she dreamed of forests and real sunlight again. I smiled. Tucked them in.

Then turned my back before they could see the war trying to restart in my eyes.

We were headed to the secret office—but before we turned the corner, I grabbed Xythe's wrist and pulled him behind one of the hallway alcoves.

He blinked, caught off guard. "Ari?"

I didn't answer. I just wrapped my arms around him and held on.

He froze. Just for a second. But then he understood—like he always does.

"I'll be fine, Ari," he whispered. Quieter than the hum of the lights. "I have the Court with me now."

I exhaled. Not doubt. Not fear. Just... awareness. Even the strongest weapons forget they're human.

"I know," I murmured. Pause. Breath caught. "...I just thought—maybe you needed one."

He chuckled softly, a sound too rare from him lately. "I did. Thank you."

I stepped back. Felt the warmth of him linger in my arms, in my chest. The faint echo of his laugh, quiet but steady, pressed against my ribs like a reminder.

We didn't say anything else. Didn't need to.

By the time we entered the hidden passage behind Mom's office bookshelf, the rest of the Court had already assembled—Lyle and Saichel standing near the projector wall, Seb and Thres flanking the doorway like silent statues. Keryn, Tofer, and Alexie occupied the back row, watching everything with quiet calculation.

Dana—Mom—was waiting in front, hands clasped, face solemn.

"I think it's time you all knew what this place really is," she said.

I frowned. "Mom, wait... you're telling us this place is more than just an orphanage?"

Her eyes met mine. Didn't flinch. Didn't even blink.

"The Home for Angels is a firewall."

The projector flickered on behind her. No images. Just words.

Children come in broken. Leave whole. No records. No news. No names. Only a plaque: 'For the ones who were never supposed to survive.'

I blinked. Heart thudding. Not just an orphanage. Not just a shelter. Something... else. Something bigger.

Mom continued. "To the public, this place is a quiet haven. A place for those children who were abandoned, left by their parents or was found in the streets."

"But behind the doors?" Xythe asked, voice cold, calculating.

Mom nodded. "It's a containment zone. A memory vault."

Saichel's brow furrowed. "You mean... like intel?"

Mom's voice dropped. "Every child here was once marked for Halcyon Pact reprogramming."

I felt my breath stop. "What?"

"Some were rescued before activation," she explained. "Others... afterward. After they had already been turned into mimicry machines. Conditioned to smile. Obey. Kill."