Chapter 20 · The Kill-Switch

"Hold still, or I'll accidentally slice your nerve bundle!" Lyra screamed over the screech of the alarm.

She had Darek pinned against the sparking bulkhead, her fingers digging into the raw, exposed wiring of his forearm. The arcane reactor in his shoulder was pulsing a violent, blinding crimson, humming at a frequency that made his teeth ache.

"Do it!" Darek gasped, his back arching. "Just... damn it, Lyra, cut the wire!"

"It's not a wire, it's a micro-fuse fused with your nervous system, you idiot!" She leaned in closer, her breath hot against his neck, her eyes scanning the chaotic mess of copper and glowing ether-glass. "If I clip the wrong one, your arm doesn't just stop working—it detonates. You'll be a human firework."

"Better than... burning alive from the inside," Darek spat. He tried to pull away, but she slammed him back against the wall, her body pressing firmly against his to keep him steady.

He could smell the ozone and the sharp, metallic scent of her sweat.