Chapter 19 · The Door Her Mother Left

"Don't you dare touch that seal alone."

Kael's hand clamps around my wrist, yanking me back a foot before my palm can hit the glass.

The vault door pulses. Red light throbs through the panel—fast, angry—and the whole station groans like it's about to fold in half.

"Let go of me," I snap, ripping my arm.

He doesn't budge.

"You touch it without me and it fries you," he says. His voice is a low rasp, right against my ear. "You want to die just to prove a point?"

"I want you off me."

My pulse hammers against his fingers. His skin is burning hot through the bond. "You don't get to play bodyguard now. You were gonna kill me on day thirty, remember?"

"I remember." His grip tightens. Just enough to sting. "And I remember you ran back for me when you could've escaped. We're both idiots. Touch it together or we both burn."

My earpiece crackles. Noah’s voice cuts in, frantic, static chewing half his words.

"Mara! Kael! You copy? Lower level's buckling! I've got forty-two people trapped in sub-station three, the rift pressure's spiking—that door is the only seal left!"

"How long?" I shout.

"Three minutes!