Chapter 15 · Price of the Forbidden

"Stop it. Just... stop taking it!"

Cain gasped, his voice a wrecked shadow of its usual command.

He was pinned against the vibrating metal of the vent, chest heaving. Lyra could feel it—not just see it. Her core was latching onto him like a starving parasite. Every breath she took sucked his strength through the bond, a hot, electric current flowing from his veins straight into her shivering skin.

"I can't!" Lyra yelled, hands trembling as she tried to shove him away. "I'm not doing this on purpose!"

"Then figure out how to shut it off," he spat. The bite was gone, replaced by a raw tremor. He looked pale. Pupils blown wide. "Because if that drone finds us before you do, I'm too weak to even pull the trigger."

Outside, the mechanical whine of a Victor-grade seeker drone grew louder. Circling. A predatory red eye scanning the corrugated steel. The sound was a physical pressure, a ticking clock counting down to zero.

Lyra didn't push him this time. She couldn't. The core was screaming, demanding more. She leaned in, her forehead brushing his.

A jolt snapped through them both. Not the core—something else.