Chapter 19 · The Price of the Spark

"Get your hands off the console, Nora! Now!"

Elias didn't just shout—he lunged. His hand clamped around my wrist, twisting it away from the interface with a force that made my teeth rattle. He slammed me back against the humming metal of the core housing. Cold steel bit into my shoulder blades.

"Let go!" I snarled, kicking hard at his shins. "The system is crashing, Elias! If I don't stabilize the sequence, this whole sector becomes a crater!"

"The sequence is a trap," he spat.

He was inches from me. I could smell ozone and the sharp, metallic tang of adrenaline. His eyes were wild, scanning the flickering holographic displays. "Your mother didn't leave a manual. She left a trigger. Look at the readout."

I stopped struggling for a second. The red text was screaming in a loop: *BIO-SYNC REQUIRED FOR FINAL REBOOT. ONE UNIT MUST REMAIN AS THE ANCHOR.*

"An anchor?" I whispered. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means one of us stays," Elias said. His voice dropped to a low, dangerous vibration.

He didn't let go. His grip tightened, thumb pressing hard into the pulse point of my arm.