Chapter 27 · Two Keys

"Step back, Maya. Now."

Iris didn't shout. She didn't have to. The edge in her voice was a razor, and her sidearm was leveled right at Kade’s chest. The muzzle didn't shake, even with the sirens screaming through the lab.

I didn't budge. I stayed planted between them, my shoulder pressed hard against Kade’s arm. He was too still. That was the problem. He looked like a man who’d already heard the punchline to a joke only he understood.

"Put the gun down, Iris," I snapped. "The warlords are literally tearing through the front door. We're out of time."

"Which is why he needs to be in cuffs," Iris countered. She stepped closer, boots clicking sharp on the sterile floor. "If the breach happens and we lose the core, Kade is our only leverage. He’s the anchor. He stays, or we all burn."

Kade let out a short, dry laugh. He looked at me, eyes dark and exhausted, but there was something else there. A terrifying kind of certainty.

"She's right, Maya. I'm the only thing keeping this place from becoming a crater. You know how the shutdown works."

Cold panic spiked in my gut. I knew.