Chapter 18 · The Living Key

"Get away from the console!" Oren Vaal shouted as three rifles punched through the relay chamber door.

Sera twisted before the first shot fired. Kael caught her around the waist and dragged her behind the dead relay bank. The bullet struck the metal casing where her head had been, spraying hot fragments across her cheek.

"Let go of me!"

"Gladly," Kael said, pinning her wrist against the floor. "The second you stop trying to get yourself killed."

"Your guards are the ones shooting."

"They aren't my guards anymore."

His body covered hers. Too close. His breath hit the side of her face, warm and rough, while the bond under her skin kicked hard enough to make her teeth hurt.

Across the chamber, Mira ducked behind a shattered control pillar and yelled, "That was the last shield! We have maybe thirty seconds before they cut the inner seal."

"You said we had a minute," Sera snapped.

"I was being optimistic. It happens once a year."

Another burst of gunfire chewed through the relay bank. Kael shifted, taking the impact of flying metal across his shoulder.