Chapter 23 · Live Feed Mutiny

"Hold the damn line, Darek! If this uplink drops for one second, we're just two more corpses in a scrap heap!"

Lyra’s voice was nearly drowned out by the screech of twisting metal. She had me pinned against the vibrating bulkhead of the titan’s leg joint, her shoulder digging into my chest, her breath hot and jagged against my neck. Above us, the sky of Ironspire was a bruised purple, choked by smog and the rhythmic, bone-shaking thunder of the titan’s main cannons.

I didn't look up. I couldn't. My left arm—the rune-fused monstrosity of brass and banned aether—was jammed deep into the titan's neural port. Sparks showered my face, smelling like ozone and burnt copper. My teeth were gritted so hard I thought they'd crack.

"I'm trying!" I spat, my voice raw. "The firewall is eating my signal. I need more juice or this thing is going to fry my brain into a pancake!"

"Then take it!" Lyra shoved a glowing power-cell into my free hand, her fingers brushing mine. The contact was electric, a sharp contrast to the freezing wind whipping through the gash in the hull. She didn't pull away immediately.