Chapter 32 · Neon Abyss

"Don't let go of me." Cael's hand locked around my wrist as the floor dropped out from under us.

I slammed into him hard enough to knock the breath from both of us. His back hit the side of the broken platform. My boots scraped against empty air, and below us, the Corp's black-domain tunnel twisted down into a pit full of dead screens and red system code.

Cael caught my other arm before I slipped.

"You said the bridge was stable," I snapped.

"It was stable."

"That is not helping."

"I'm not here to help your mood."

His grip tightened. The metal edge cut into my ribs through my jacket. His face stayed calm, but his jaw had gone hard.

That was the problem with Cael. He could look at a collapsing world like it was a minor scheduling issue.

"You're going to pull me up," I said.

"I am."

"Then pull."

"Stop fighting me."

"Stop giving me reasons to fight you."

The platform groaned beneath his boots. A strip of blue light snapped loose and vanished into the dark.