She could break the hatch. She knew she could. The pressure was still in her hands, waiting, but the last burst had left her shaking. If she used it again, the collar might kill her before the hatch opened.
The guard moved his finger onto the trigger.
"Last warning."
A man stepped out of the dark behind him.
Sera saw the guard's eyes widen first.
Then the stranger caught his rifle, twisted it free, and drove the stock into the side of his helmet. The guard dropped without a sound.
The stranger looked at Sera.
He was tall, broad through the shoulders, and dressed in a black coat with no civic markings. Dark hair fell over his forehead. A thin cut ran from the corner of his mouth to his jaw, still wet.
He looked like he had walked through the prison's security line instead of fighting it.
"You have fifty seconds," he said.
Sera kept her back against the hatch. "That's your opening line?"
"It wasn't an opening line. It was a warning."
"Try again."
He took one step toward her.
The collar tightened.
Sera's hand went to the blade hidden at her boot. "Don't come closer."
"You can't reach the blade fast enough."
"Want to test that?"
His eyes dropped to her hand, then returned to her face. He did not look surprised. That annoyed her more than it should have.
"You're Kael Rusk," she said.
"You're late."
The deposed ruler of the city had a wanted notice in every transit station. Betrayer. Usurper. Terrorist. The man who had lost the central seat three months ago and vanished before Oren Vaal could put him on the same execution platform as Sera.
Sera had promised herself she would kill him if their paths crossed.
The promise suddenly had a very inconvenient face.
"You came to watch me die?" she asked.
"I came to stop it."
"That's disappointing."
"You can be disappointed after you take my deal."
Kael pulled a small black device from inside his coat. It was no bigger than a coin, but the blue light along its edge matched the pulse racing through Sera's collar.
Her skin prickled.
"What is that?"
"A key."
"For the hatch?"
"For your throat."
Sera's fingers closed around the knife at her boot. "You expect me to let you touch me?"
"No. I expect you to decide whether pride is worth dying for."
The corridor shook. Guards shouted behind the ruined gate. Oren's voice cut through the noise.
"Kael! Step away from her!"
Kael did not look back. "Still giving orders from a safe distance, Oren?"
"She is property of the civic authority."
"You lost the right to call anyone property when you stole the city."
"You lost the city because you were weak."
Kael's jaw tightened. The device in his hand gave a soft electronic chirp.
Sera noticed.
He was angry, but not distracted. He kept one shoulder angled toward the guards, blocking the cleanest shot at her.
Not protecting her. Protecting his leverage.
"What does your key cost?" she asked.
"One choice."
"That isn't a cost. That's a threat."
"Same thing, in your position."
The collar flashed.
00:00:31.
Sera's lungs seized. She dropped to one knee, fingers clawing at the metal ring around her throat.
Kael crossed the distance in two strides.
She pulled the knife and slashed.
He caught her wrist before the blade reached him. His palm closed around her hard enough to stop the motion, but not hard enough to hurt. His skin was warm. The contact shot a sharp pulse up her arm.
Sera drove her free hand toward his face.
He blocked that too.
"Let go," she snapped.
"Stop trying to stab the only person who can help you."
"You make it sound like a personality flaw."
"It is, when we're on a timer."
He twisted her wrist, forced the knife from her fingers, and kicked it across the floor. Sera shoved at his chest.
He barely moved.
"Move."
"No."
"I said move."
"And I heard you."
His breath brushed her cheek. He was close enough that she could feel the heat of him through the thin fabric of her shirt. His gaze stayed on hers, steady and cold, while the collar kept counting down against her pulse.
"You hate being told what to do," he said.
"You figured that out all by yourself?"
"I figured out that you hate needing anyone more."
Sera slammed her forehead into his nose.
Kael grunted. His grip loosened for half a second.
She broke free, spun, and drove her elbow into the manual wheel. The hatch dented but stayed shut.
00:00:19.
"You have got to be kidding me," she said.
Kael wiped blood from his nose with the back of his hand. "That was rude."
"You kidnapped my knife."
"I disarmed you."
"You grabbed me."
"You attacked me."
"You walked into my tunnel."
"This is my tunnel."
"You don't own tunnels."
"I owned the city."
"Past tense. Try not to cry about it."
A rifle cracked behind them.
The bullet struck the hatch beside Sera's head.
Kael caught her waist and yanked her down. They hit the floor together, his body covering hers as another shot tore through the metal above them.
The collar pressed into her throat. His arm locked beside her head. His chest rose against her shoulder, controlled and strong.
Sera shoved at him. "Get off."
"If I move, they hit you."
"Maybe I want them to."
"No, you don't."
"You don't know what I want."
"I know you want to live."
His voice dropped low. The sound traveled through the narrow space between them and settled under her skin.
Sera stared up at him. "I want you dead."
"Get in line."
"I mean it."
"So do I."
The collar flashed.
00:00:09.
Kael pushed up and grabbed the shackle with both hands.
Sera reacted on instinct. She caught his wrist and tried to pull him away.
"Don't touch it!"
"If I don't, it kills you."
"Maybe it explodes."
"Then we both get a bad evening."
"Let go!"
"Look at me."
"Go to hell."
"Sera. Look at me."
The use of her name cut through the panic. She looked.
Kael had one hand braced against the side of her neck and the other pressed over the collar's locking seam. His fingers were spread beneath her jaw. His thumb rested just below her ear, right where her pulse jumped against his skin.
The device in his palm lit up.
The collar screamed.
Sera arched off the floor. A burst of pain ripped through her throat, down her spine, and into both arms. She heard herself shout. Kael's grip tightened, holding her still while the metal ring heated beneath his hand.
"What are you doing?" she gasped.
"Breaking the command loop."
"You said key."
"It's a key and a lockpick."
"You could've mentioned the part where it hurts!"
"You wouldn't have listened."
"I would've listened if you hadn't acted like a smug bastard!"
"You noticed. Good. Stay awake."
The pain climbed higher.
Black lines crawled over the collar, matching the cracks she had forced into the security gate. They reached Kael's fingers and stopped.
For one second, the entire tunnel went silent.
The black lines lit blue.
Kael's eyes widened.
Not fear. Recognition.
Sera saw it and grabbed the front of his coat. "What was that?"
"Don't move."