Chapter 15 · The Glitch Pact

"Put that knife down, Kane." My claws scraped against the stone as I backed away from the black shard in his hand. "Unless you’re planning to stab the only thing keeping you alive."

Kane leaned against the dungeon wall, one hand pressed to his side. Blood had soaked through his coat and dripped between his fingers. His face had gone pale, but his eyes stayed sharp.

"You’re not keeping me alive," he said. "You’re keeping me trapped."

"Same difference."

"Not even close."

Behind him, the sealed gate shook hard enough to knock dust from the ceiling.

Something hit it again.

The metal screamed.

Kane’s gaze flicked toward the gate. Then back to me. "We have maybe three minutes."

"Great. You can bleed out in two."

"I’ll last longer than that."

"You almost died behind a wall. Don’t get cocky."

His mouth tightened. "You dragged me out."

"I dragged your body out of the kill zone. Don’t make it sound romantic."

"I wasn’t."

"Good. Because you’re still the hunter who tried to put a bolt through my skull."

"And you’re still the dungeon rat that bit through my glove."

"You shot first."

"You stole my kill.