Chapter 27 · Blood Baptism

"Stay with me, damn it!" Kael's hand locked around my wrist and yanked me off the floor as the suppressor fog hit my lungs.

"I'm fine," I choked out, but my knees already gave. "Just gas. I'm fine."

Bullshit. I wasn't fine. My mods were shorting out like wet wiring under my skin.

"You're not fine!" he snarled, dragging me behind the overturned lab table. Bullets chewed the concrete where my head had been. "Your vitals are tanking, Vesper! Talk to me!"

"Don't need vitals," I spat, trying to shove him off. "Need my gun. Let go!"

"You can't even hold it!" He slammed his palm against my chest, pinning me down. His face was an inch from mine, eyes wild. "Look at your hands!"

I looked. My hands were shaking so hard I couldn't make a fist. The blue veins in my forearms were going dark. The suppressor was eating my gene-mods alive.

"It's just a little suppressor," I hissed. "I've had worse."

"No, you haven't," he said, low and furious. "This is military-grade. Selina's new batch. It doesn't just block you, it rewrites you."

Another burst of fire ripped over our heads. The lab table shuddered.

"How many?"