Chapter 28 · Mirror Shadow

"Get your hands off me, Kael!"

Sloane didn't just push me; she slammed me back against the reinforced alloy wall of the safehouse. The impact rattled my teeth, and the wound in my side flared into a white-hot scream. I gasped, my knees buckling, but she didn't let up. She had her forearm pressed hard against my collarbone, pinning me in place. Her eyes were frantic, scanning my face like she was looking for a glitch in the code.

"I can't... I can't feel the sync," she hissed, her voice trembling. "Why isn't it locking? We're three inches apart and the link is dead. Why is it dead?"

I coughed, a metallic taste filling my mouth. "Maybe because... you're trying to fight it," I managed to grate out. "Stop treating me like a suspect for five seconds and just—"

"I can't just 'do' it!" she snapped, her grip tightening. "The neural bridge is blocked. It's like there's a wall in my head. A goddamn firewall. Did you do something? Did you trigger a lockdown in your core?"

I tried to laugh, but it came out as a wet wheeze. "I'm bleeding out on your floor, Sloane.