CHAPTER 136
KATYA POV
I swallowed hard—once—before fitting the mask into place. The straps clicked quietly as I fastened them behind my head.
The transformation wasn't dramatic. Just final. One second, I was me. The next, I was the version of me that my enemies expected.
I glanced toward the mirror again. The mask split my reflection sharply down the middle, dividing the man from the myth.
Dividing the damage I carried on my skin from the damage I carried everywhere else.
For a moment, I just stared. Not at the scars. Not at the mask.
At my eyes.
They looked exhausted. Older. Like yesterday had slapped years onto me. Maybe it had. "Get it together," I muttered under my breath. "You don't have time to fall apart."
Not now. Not ever. I turned away from the mirror and brushed the last of the water from my hair, letting it fall messily across my forehead.
My steps were steady but slow as I crossed the room, grabbed my watch, and slipped it onto my wrist.
