Chapter Seventy-Seven

Summary

• Bryce attempts to deceive Micah about the location of the Horn, using every opportunity to buy time.
• Micah reveals that he believes Bryce and Danika found out how to fix the broken Horn.
• Micah manhandles and threatens Bryce, who tells him that he'll need a warrant to burn down the gallery and its books.
• Micah confronts Bryce about her tattoo, and explains his reasoning for believing that it is a representation of the Horn and its activation command.
• Bryce tries to resist and escape from Micah, but he is too powerful and continually beats her into submission.
• Micah explains the convoluted backstory of how he manipulated Danika to steal the Horn and how he has orchestrated the events of the past two years.
• Micah also explains the power dynamics between races and his motivation for wanting to use the Horn - to decimate the human rebels and possibly enhance his own powers to Asteri level.
• Bryce continues to try and buy time by asking Micah to explain his involvement in various events, while enduring his physical abuse.
• Micah eventually forces Bryce to admit she is the Horn, by injecting her with synth that starts to heal her.
• In a final desperate act, Bryce grabs a book that creates a golden barrier Micah cannot penetrate, shortly before collapsing again due to her injuries.
• Micah, unfazed by the barrier, seizes the chimera Syrinx and throws it into the tank with a deadly creature to threaten Bryce further.