Chapter 18 · Ghosts of the Old Model

"Get off me, Kael!" Jaxon slammed my wrist against the metal floor before my blade could reach his throat.

My shoulder hit a broken service panel. Sparks snapped beside my face. Jaxon’s knee pinned my coat, one hand locked around my wrist, the other holding his access gun inches from my temple.

"You first," I snarled.

"You’re trying to kill me."

"You noticed."

His jaw tightened. Up close, I could feel the heat coming off him through his shirt. His breath brushed my cheek. Not scared. Not yet.

That made it worse.

The thing behind my eyes wanted him open. It wanted the pulse under his jaw. It wanted the access key buried in his skull.

The Glitch flashed across my vision.

[HOSTILE TARGET: JAXON] [THREAT LEVEL: EXECUTION AUTHORIZED] [MEMORY TAX REQUIRED]

"Kael." His grip shifted, hard enough to grind my wrist against the floor. "Look at me."

"I am looking at you."

"No. You’re looking through me."

The voice in my head laughed.

Not my laugh.

A second blade slid out from my forearm. Jaxon saw it too late. I twisted, drove my elbow into his ribs, and sent the blade toward his chest.

He moved fast.