The borrowed face said Jade again, and Ty cut the wrong line.
The sickle moved before Omina's hand.
Its edge flashed through silver near the stolen body's shoulder. The line should have been a hinge. Ty saw that half a heartbeat after the blade touched it.
Wrong color, wrong angle, wrong price.
Pain cracked through his spine. Three ribs on his left side burst into red dust and scattered across the stone.
The stolen body arched beneath Omina's pressure.
It laughed through clenched teeth.
"There," it said. "That sound is still yours."
Omina drove a heel into the arena floor. Golden-green light rose in a hard ring around Ty and locked his elbows before he could swing again.
"I call," she said.
Ty's skull turned toward her.
"She heard."
"Yes."
"She is in danger."
"Yes."
"Move."
"Earn movement."
The ring tightened until his bones scraped together.
JJ came forward despite Heissman's arm blocking her path.
"Omina."
