Chapter 31 · Privilege Escalation

"Stop touching the firewall!" Milo screamed through the comm. "Lex, get out of the system before it cooks both of you!"

"That advice would've been useful ten seconds ago," I snapped.

The red lattice around us tightened.

Not a wall. Not exactly. It was a cage made of code and light, each line humming across the abandoned transit hub. It had already sealed every exit. The floor under my boots kept flashing with warning markers, and every warning carried the same message.

GHOST-TAGGED ENTITY DETECTED.

CAEL DRAVEN: CONTAMINATED.

DELETE BOTH.

Cael stood three feet away with one hand pressed against the side of his neck. The system had burned a black mark beneath his skin, right where our shared link ran. His jaw was locked tight.

"Tell me what you did," he said.

"I opened a door."

"You opened the city's kill switch."

"Small difference."

A pulse ripped through the cage.

My knees buckled. Cael crossed the space between us before I hit the floor. His hand caught my waist, hard and fast, and his other arm locked around my shoulders.

Heat slammed into my back.

His heartbeat hit my ear. Fast. Controlled.