Astra's stomach dropped. Still five.
Kael's breath warmed her hair. "Astra."
Astra turned her head slightly toward him, close enough to feel his mouth hover near her temple.
"Black water," she whispered.
"Black water," Kael rasped.
Heat flared—dangerous, intimate—because their anchor still worked in places it shouldn't.
Vell watched them and sighed, almost bored. "You're going to make me like you. That's inconvenient."
Astra didn't blink. "Then don't."
Vell's smile sharpened. "I don't control what I enjoy. I control what I collect."
Bootsteps echoed faintly in the distance—closer now, reorganizing as if the misdirection window was ending.
Vell lifted a finger. "Decide."
Orin hissed, "We can fight."
Vell glanced at him. "You can die."
Juno's disks hummed, scared and angry. "Astra, please."
Lyra's voice went low, almost coaxing. "Pay with trace. You can heal trace later. Debts don't heal."
Kael's jaw clenched. "Trace will spike her. She's already—"
Astra cut him off softly. "I know."
She stared at her UI. Trace was high. Penance was heavy. Chain debt sat in her bones like a quiet hand that could become a fist.
If she paid with trace, she'd suffer—but she might keep permission leverage out of Underchain hands.
If she paid with permission, she'd be safer now and owned later.
Astra bared her teeth.
"Trace," Astra said.
Kael's arm tightened at her waist. "Consent?" he asked, rough, urgent, like he was asking if she wanted him to stop her.
Astra met his eyes. "Yes. Let me."
Kael's jaw clenched. "Stay alive."
Astra's mouth curved bitterly. "I'm trying."
Vell smiled like he'd been waiting for that answer. "Good girl."
Kael went still, lethal.
Astra's voice snapped. "Don't."
Vell lifted both hands, mock innocent. "Just a phrase."
Astra's eyes stayed hard. "Not yours to use."
Vell's smile sharpened, approving. "Fine."
Astra opened TRACE and felt the module flare like exposed nerve.
PAYMENT METHOD: TRACE TITHEAMOUNT: -3 DEBTWARNING: PAIN REAL / TRACE SPIKE
Astra accepted.
Cold pain slammed through her skull—bright and ugly—like a wire dragged behind her eyes. Her knees threatened to dip. The penance weight in her chest surged, delighted at weakness.
Kael's arm tightened instantly, bracing her upright at the waist.
"Consent?" he rasped.
Astra swallowed the scream. "Yes. Hold."
Kael held—steady, controlled—keeping her standing, keeping her breathing.
Vell watched her flinch like he was studying an investment.
Astra's interface updated:
TRACE TITHE: ACCEPTEDCHAIN DEBT: -3DEBT TOTAL: 4NOTE: PAIN REGISTERED
Astra wiped blood from her lip with shaking fingers and forced her chin up.
Vell clucked softly. "Still four."
Orin snarled, "We don't have time."
Vell's eyes flicked to the darkness. "No. You don't."
Then he stepped closer and lowered his voice as if sharing a secret.
"I'll take the last four in one payment," he murmured. "But you won't like it."
Astra's throat burned. "State it."
Vell's eyes glittered. "Permission. Temporary. Narrow."
Kael's jaw clenched. "No."
Astra didn't look away from Vell. "What permission."
Vell smiled, slow. "I want one local admin action. From you. Recorded. So the Underchain can answer the inquiry cleanly."
Lyra's gaze sharpened. "He wants you to take responsibility."
Orin's face went hard. "He wants you tagged as the source."
Astra's stomach turned.
If she did it, she'd be the visible "admin" in the Underchain ledger. A name on the page. A hook for future collection.
If she didn't, the Underchain could hand her up as "unpaid," and everyone would hunt her.
Kael's voice went low, rough. "Astra—don't take that mark."
Astra turned slightly toward him, close enough for warmth.
"Consent," Astra whispered, "to me considering it."
Kael's throat worked. "Yes. But—"
Astra cut him off softly. "I know."
Heat flared low in her belly—the memory of their kiss in Silk & Steam still sitting on her mouth like an ember. She wanted to lean into Kael, to use his warmth until her head stopped throbbing.
She didn't. Not yet.
She needed her mind sharp.
Astra looked at Vell. "What admin action."
Vell's smile sharpened. "A Null Voice confirmation. Official. Local. For the inquiry log."
Lyra's eyes glittered. "That's not terrible."
Orin hissed, "It's terrible."
Vell spread his hands. "It's a receipt."
Astra's interface flickered, offering the exact document Vell wanted her to sign with her soul:
COLLECTOR CONTRACT OFFERED:ACTION: ADMIN CONFIRMATION — NULL VOICE EVENTEFFECT: CLOSE INQUIRY (LOCAL)COST: CHAIN DEBT -4 (CLEARED)WARNING: ADMIN SOURCE REGISTERED
Kael's arm tightened at Astra's waist. "Consent?" he asked again—this time quieter, almost pleading.
Astra's pulse kicked. She hated that his pleading felt like intimacy and not weakness.
"Yes," Astra said softly. "Hold. I need a second."
Kael held her tighter at the waist—still no throat—his breath harsh, trying to be her anchor without becoming her cage.
Astra stared at the contract offer.
If she cleared the chain debt now, she stopped being dragged by collectors. She might also stop the Underchain from demanding she "bring the subject" again.
But she'd be recorded.
A name in a network that never forgot.
Astra's mouth tasted blood.
Vell watched her and smiled like he already knew her answer.
"You're a strategist," he murmured. "You know it's cheaper to pay now than bleed later."
Astra's eyes snapped up. "Cheaper for who."
Vell's smile widened. "For you."
Lyra's voice drifted, soft and sharp. "Do it, Astra. Clear debt. Then you can choose your next cage."
Astra's gaze cut to Lyra. "Stop saying cage like it's cute."
Lyra's eyes glittered. "Stop pretending it isn't real."
Bootsteps echoed again—closer, re-finding the trail. The Underchain lock Vell had thrown over the corridor was thinning; Astra could feel the pressure of pursuit returning like a tide.
Vell lifted his chin toward the darkness. "Time."
Astra made the choice.
"Consent," Astra said, voice clear, cold, "to a single admin confirmation. Local only. No further authority. No ongoing delegation."
Vell's eyes gleamed. "Accepted."
Astra's interface pulsed. The contract waited for a spoken trigger. Of course it did.
Astra swallowed bile and spoke with deliberate precision—refusing to give the system anything it could twist into devotion.
"Yes," Astra said. "Admin confirmation—Null Voice event. Local only."
Cold weight settled into her bones, like a stamp pressed into skin without touching it.
Her interface flashed:
ADMIN CONFIRMATION: RECORDED (UNDERCHAIN)INQUIRY: CLOSED (LOCAL)CHAIN DEBT: CLEAREDNOTE: SOURCE REGISTERED — ASTRA VEY