Chapter 12 · Absolute Floor

"Let go of me, Cassian!" Lyra slammed both palms against his chest as the deck dropped under them.

He caught her wrist before she could reach the emergency release. The iron floor kicked sideways. Bolts screamed. Somewhere below, a bulkhead folded with a sound like a giant snapping its teeth.

"You open that chamber, you kill everyone on this boat."

"Then stop dragging me away from it!"

"Not happening."

The submarine rolled hard to starboard. Lyra's boots left the deck. Cassian hooked one arm around a support rail and hauled her against him with the other. Her shoulder struck his ribs. His breath punched out.

She didn't apologize. She drove an elbow into his side.

"You promised me the core."

"I promised to get you to it alive."

"That's not what the contract says."

"The contract can drown."

The next impact threw them both across the corridor.

Cassian hit the wall shoulder-first. Lyra crashed into him, her fingers catching the front of his coat. The emergency lamps blinked red over her face.