Chapter 32 · You’re going to erase yourself

She reached for the access port.

Kael caught her hand again.

This time, she drove her elbow toward his ribs. He turned, took the blow, and trapped her arm against his chest. Her back hit the console. The glass lit beneath her spine.

"You’re going to erase yourself," he said.

"Move."

"You won’t remember your own name. You won’t remember Mira. You won’t remember what Oren did. You won’t remember why you hate me."

"That last one sounds like a benefit."

"You won’t remember that I saved you."

"You want credit?"

"I want you to understand what you’re throwing away."

His mouth was close to her ear. His voice dropped, rough from the strain.

"You think your memories are just weapons pointed at you. They’re also proof. Without them, Oren gets to write the story. He gets to tell you what you are."

Sera stared at the console over his shoulder. "And you don’t?"

Kael’s breathing changed.

There. A hit.

She twisted against him. "Tell me what the experiment was called."

"No."

"Tell me."

"You don’t know what you’re asking."

"I’m asking for a name. Unless even that scares you."

His arm pressed harder across hers. Not enough to hurt.