Chapter 9 · Magnetic Snare

"Cut the engines!" Lyra shouted. "They're dragging us sideways!"

Cassian grabbed the back of her harness as the deck kicked hard enough to throw her into the console. Her burned hands slapped against the metal. A burst of sparks jumped beneath her palms.

"I know what dragging feels like," he said. "Brant, give me reverse thrust. Full."

"Already at full," Brant yelled from the engine pit. "The dreadnought's winches have us locked!"

The ironclad groaned around them. Every bolt in the forward bulkhead shrieked. The black sea pressed against the viewports, carrying pale shapes that vanished whenever the search lamps caught them.

Lyra ripped one hand off the console. The skin across her palm had split open again. Gold light leaked between her fingers.

Cassian saw it. So did Brant.

"Don't look at me," she snapped.

"Hard not to. You're bleeding sunlight all over my controls."

"Then stop staring and steer."

"I'm not steering. I'm fighting a ship three times our size with a dead engine and a navigator who keeps setting herself on fire."

Her jaw tightened. "I am not the reason we're losing power."

Another impact slammed through the hull.