Chapter 36 · King of the Lockdown

"Get your hands off me before I rip them off!" Sloane snarled, though she didn't pull away. Her back was slammed against the humming core of the Central Gene-Spire, the vibration rattling her teeth. Kael had her pinned, his forearm pressed across her collarbone, his chest heaving against hers.

"Shut up and sync, Sloane," Kael hissed. His eyes weren't human anymore—they were glowing a violent, electric violet, the iris bleeding into the white. "The system is crashing. If we don't bridge the gap now, this whole sector becomes a graveyard."

"You're overdriving," she gasped, her hands clutching his shoulders, her nails digging into the tactical fabric of his suit. "Your brain is literally cooking. You can't take this much load."

"I can if you stop fighting me," he snapped. He leaned in closer, his breath hot against her ear, his voice dropping to a dangerous, jagged edge. "Do you want to die as a loyal dog for the people who erased me? Or do you want to actually win for once?"

Sloane stiffened. The power imbalance shifted in a heartbeat. He wasn't the fugitive she'd hunted through the slums anymore.