Chapter 19 · Blood for Blood

"Get your hands off me!" Elara slammed her elbow into the security drone's lens, but the machine only tightened its metal grip around her throat.

Kyle hit it from the side.

His shoulder cracked against the drone's armored shell. The impact drove all three of them into the half-open vault door, and a shower of blue sparks burst from the lock.

"Kyle! Don't touch it!" Elara shouted.

Too late.

The drone's fingers came apart with a sharp metallic pop. Chrome peeled from the joints like wet foil. The machine sagged against Elara, dead before it hit the floor.

Kyle staggered back, clutching his forearm.

Black veins crawled under his skin. Not veins. Thin lines of dark metal, spreading from the cut on his wrist and racing toward his elbow.

Echo's voice scraped through his skull.

"Feed her."

Kyle gritted his teeth. "Shut up."

Elara shoved the dead drone away and spun on him. Her face had gone pale, but her eyes were still sharp. They locked on his wrist.

"What did you do?"

"Saved you."

"You rotted a military-grade hunter by touching it. That isn't saving me. That's the problem chasing us.