Chapter 16 · The Memory Market

"Take your hand out of my head, Kael." Sera drove her elbow back, but he caught it before it reached his ribs and twisted her wrist against the relay console.

"You broke into my link."

"You dragged me into yours first."

His fingers tightened. Heat pressed through her skin. The bond under her collarbone pulsed once, hard enough to make her teeth click.

Kael leaned close. His breath brushed her cheek, sharp with metal and pain. "Get out. Now."

"Unlock the memories."

"No."

"Then keep bleeding through my nerves."

That got him.

His jaw locked. For half a second, the pain behind his eyes flashed across the bond and slammed into her chest. Sera saw white. Her knees nearly folded.

Kael shoved her away before she could fall. "Mira. Cut the relay."

"Already tried," Mira said from behind the open equipment rack. "Your shared link has fused to the station. If I shut it down, both of you might seize."

"Might?" Sera snapped.

Mira glanced over her shoulder. "Fine. You will seize. Better?"

Kael's gaze stayed on Sera. "You heard the recording. That's enough."

"A projection of you stood beside my surgery table."

"A projection."

"Young you. Before the scar.