Chapter 16 · Into the Abyss

"Move. Now!" Cain’s voice cracked like a whip, his hand clamped tight around Lila’s upper arm, hauling her behind a rusted bulkhead just as a plasma bolt scorched the air where her head had been a second ago.

Lila hit the metal wall with a thud, the wind knocked out of her. She gasped, looking up at him. Cain wasn't just standing there; he was coiled, a predator in a ruined suit, his eyes scanning the corridor with a terrifying, mechanical precision. His grip on her arm didn't loosen. It was bruising, dominant, and entirely too close.

"You’re too slow," he hissed, his face inches from hers. She could smell the ozone and something metallic—blood, maybe—clinging to him. "Do you want to end up as a charcoal smudge on the floor?"

"I'm trying!" Lila snapped back, shoving at his chest. It was like pushing a brick wall. "Maybe if you didn't drag me like a sack of potatoes, I could actually run!"

Cain didn't blink. He didn't even look at her. He just shifted his weight, shielding her entire body with his own. "Stay behind me. If I tell you to drop, you drop.