Chapter 12 · Ten Seconds to Zero

"Ten seconds, Vane. Ten seconds before that orbital rod turns this entire block into a crater," Roxie screamed over the roar of the wind.

She had him pinned against the jagged edge of a collapsed girder, her hand gripping his collar so tight her knuckles were white. Her eyes were wide, frantic, darting between the ticking holographic timer hovering in the sky and the shimmering, unstable mass of gravity Kaelen was trying to weave with his fingers.

Kaelen didn't even look at her. His gaze was locked on the singularity, a tiny, screaming bead of blackness that looked like a hole punched through reality.

"Get your hand off me," he snapped. His voice was like grinding stones. "I can't stabilize the focal point if you're shaking like a leaf."

"We're about to be vaporized!" Roxie shoved him harder, her chest heaving against his. "Move! We need to get Mina out of the blast zone now!"

Kaelen's hand shot up, catching her wrist in a grip that didn't just hold—it commanded.