Chapter 31 · The Weight of Betrayal

"Get your hands off the console, Kael. Now."

Vera’s voice wasn't a request. It was a blade. She had me pinned against the cold metal of the terminal, the barrel of her sidearm digging a perfect, punishing circle into the soft skin just under my jaw. My fingers were still hovering over the override keys, the screen flashing a violent, rhythmic crimson.

"I'm trying to save us both, you idiot," I spat, my voice sounding like I'd swallowed a handful of glass. "If I don't kill the sequence, the whole sector goes white. Including you. Including your precious little leash to Mord."

"You don't know what you're talking about," she hissed. She pressed closer, her chest flush against my shoulder. I could smell the ozone and the sharp, sterile scent of her combat gear. The heat radiating off her was the only warm thing in this frozen hellhole of a command center.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about," I countered, shifting my weight. "I've died forty-two times in this room, Vera. I've seen the blast wave peel the skin off my ribs. You want to be the forty-third?"

Her grip tightened. I felt her finger twitch on the trigger.