Chapter 15 · The Three-Second Gap

"Get your hands off me before I break them," Vera spat, though her voice lacked its usual bite. She was leaning against the rusted siding of a collapsed warehouse, clutching her side where a jagged piece of shrapnel had carved a red line through her tactical gear.

Kael didn't move. He kept his fingers pressed hard against her wrist, the skin still humming with the stolen residue of the Time Freeze skill. "You took a hit for me. Why?"

"Don't flatter yourself," she snapped, trying to shove him away. Her palm hit his chest, but she didn't have the strength to push. "I just can't let the target die before I get the data. You're a tool, Kael. Tools don't get thanked."

Kael let out a sharp, dry laugh. He stepped closer, crowding her into the metal wall. He could smell the ozone and burnt gunpowder clinging to her hair. "A tool? Then why are you shaking?"

"I'm not shaking. I'm bleeding," she hissed. Her eyes flickered—not at him, but at the shimmering distortion in the air behind him. "Get back. Now."

Kael didn't listen. He leaned in, his breath warm against her cheek.