Chapter 37 · Then let me bleed out

He pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes searching mine with an intensity that made my skin prickle. "You're whatever I need you to be. Right now, you're a liability that refuses to stop bleeding."

"Then let me bleed out," I snapped, though I didn't move. "Save yourself the trouble of the cleanup."

Kael’s jaw tightened. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, shimmering vial of iridescent blue fluid—the stabilizer. He didn't hand it to me. He held it up, the light of the neon city filtering through the blinds and casting a blue glow over his sharp features.

"Drink it," he said. "And stop pretending you want to leave. We both know you have nowhere else to go. Your agency burned your files. Your contacts are dead. You're a ghost, Vesper. And I'm the only one who can make you solid again."

"I'd rather be a ghost than your slave," I said, but I reached for the vial.

As my fingers brushed his, a jolt of static electricity snapped between us. We both froze. It wasn't just the mods; it was something deeper, a resonance that made the air feel thick, almost liquid.