Chapter 13 · Gates of Rust

"Get your hand off that console before you fry your brain, Kael!" Sila's voice cracked like a whip, but she didn't pull him away. Not yet.

Kael didn't move. He couldn't. His palm was fused to the rusted interface, and the golden light wasn't just glowing anymore—it was screaming. It surged up his arm in jagged, electric veins, turning his skin translucent. The metal beneath his fingers didn't feel like rust anymore. It felt like a living thing, waking up from a century-long coma.

"I can... I can feel it," Kael gasped, his voice sounding distorted, like two people speaking at once. "The lock. It's not a physical bolt. It's a sequence. A heartbeat."

"I don't care about heartbeats!" Sila stepped closer, her boots grinding into the grit. She grabbed his shoulder, her fingers digging into the worn fabric of his jacket. "We have Viktor's hounds closing in. If you can't open this gate in ten seconds, we're turning this convoy into a coffin."

Kael's head snapped back, eyes flashing a violent, blinding gold. "Just—give me a second!"

"You don't have a second!" she snapped, but her grip shifted. She wasn't just holding him for leverage anymore.