Chapter 37 · Vow of the Embers

"Let go of me, Cain! Let go!"

Lyra screamed, but the wind swallowed her. This wasn't air anymore—it was ionized plasma, violet and gold streaks shrieking through the ruins of the spire. One slip and she was cosmic dust.

Cain didn't flinch. His fingers were locked around her wrist like a shackle, bruising and absolute. He yanked her back from the precipice, slamming her hard against a slab of reinforced plating.

"Shut up and breathe," he snarled.

He was a mess. A gash opened across his forehead, blood mixing with the grit and ash on his skin. He pressed his body flush against hers, pinning her to the metal to keep the gale from sweeping her away.

"We're gonna die!" Lyra gasped, her chest heaving against his. "Look at the readings! The core is overloading. If I don't release the pressure, this whole sector becomes a crater!"

"I'm not letting you jump into that void." Cain's eyes narrowed. He shifted, his thigh pressing firmly between hers to anchor them both. "You think I'm just gonna watch you burn yourself out for a pile of ruins?"

"It's not about the ruins!" she spat, wrenching her arm.