Chapter 23 · Forbidden Resonance

"Don't move. Not a single muscle." Kael's forearm slammed into my collarbone and drove me straight back into the stone.

Cold wall biting my spine. His heat everywhere else. No space. No air.

"Get off me," I hissed. My throat still raw from Augustus.

"You just played chicken with a guy who eats souls for breakfast, Sloane." His voice was low and lethal. "And you didn't just survive. You showed him exactly how to break you."

He leaned in. Inches away. Ozone and leather on him. His eyes locked on mine, furious.

"What the hell was that?" he growled. "That wasn't a jump. You were riding me. You were using me."

"It's called efficiency," I said. "You had the power. I had the map. I connected the dots."

"You risked getting your mind wiped for a map?"

"I risked it to win," I snapped. I tried to shove him and he moved with me, his gloved hand clamping my shoulder. The friction burned. "And it worked. He flinched. Augustus actually flinched."

He didn't let go. He pressed closer, his chest brushing mine every time I tried to breathe. The imbalance was stupid —