Chapter 25 · Skyfall Execution

"Get your boot off Kyle before you crush his throat." Ronin’s voice cut through the alarms.

I kept my knife pressed under the chief medical officer’s jaw. His blood ran over my fingers, hot against the cold metal roof.

"He just confessed to the purge," I snapped. "You want me to thank him for the honesty?"

Ronin stood three steps away, one hand locked around Kyle’s collar. His coat was torn at the shoulder. Blood darkened his mouth. Mine, maybe. His. I couldn’t tell anymore.

Above us, the fortress’s glass dome flashed red.

A deep mechanical boom rolled through the roof.

Kyle smiled with one side of his mouth. "That would be the Chancellor saying hello."

Ronin glanced up. "Move."

"You don’t get to order me around after using me as bait," I said.

His eyes snapped back to mine. Even through the smoke and flashing emergency lights, I felt the pull of him. That cursed bond tightened under my ribs, hot and mean, answering every drop of his blood.

"Vira," he said, quieter now. "Move."

"Try asking."

Kyle coughed beneath my knife. "She’s still pretending this is a partnership. Adorable."

I shoved the blade harder.