Chapter 22 · You really do enjoy that

She pressed the seal against his chest.

Heat punched through his shirt. Milo sucked in a breath. Lena's palm stayed there, hard over his ribs, trapping him against the wall. Her face was close again. Close enough that he could see the tiny cut beneath her left eye.

"Kneel," she said.

The seal flared.

Milo's knees buckled.

He caught himself on the wall with one hand. "You really do enjoy that."

"I enjoy you being alive. Kneel."

"Not happening."

"The seal is tied to the furnace. If it recognizes you as a threat, it will burn through your lungs."

"You could've mentioned that before putting it on me."

"You weren't listening."

"You were too busy ordering me around."

"Because you only listen when someone puts a weapon to your head."

"Funny. That's how we met."

Her palm remained against his chest. Neither of them moved.

Then Bram screamed.

Milo shoved Lena away and ran.

"Milo, don't!"

The furnace opened like a metal jaw. The black core rolled out on a nest of rotating gears. Bram's chair came with it, chained to the frame.

Milo slid across the stone, caught the cutter, and came up beneath the first glowing band.

"Bram!