Chapter 4

The guard hesitated.

Sera looked at Kael. "Is that true?"

"Probably."

"Probably?"

"I'm trying to keep the conversation interesting."

He fired twice. The shots struck the rifleman in the shoulder and thigh armor. The guard went down, screaming. The other two ducked behind the corner.

Sera pulled her hand from the panel.

The door began to open.

Kael grabbed her wrist. "Don't stop."

"You said the door was reading me."

"It needs a complete signal."

"And what happens when it gets one?"

"It lets us through."

"That's not an answer."

"You ask too many questions for someone who keeps trying to stab me."

"You answer too few for someone who claims to be saving my life."

The door opened wide enough for one person.

Kael pushed Sera through first.

She caught the door edge and spun back. "You go."

"I am going."

"No. You stay here, you get shot."

"Concern?"

"Practicality. Don't flatter yourself."

His expression shifted. Barely. The corner of his mouth moved, but his eyes stayed hard.

"Move," he said.

"After you."

"You don't trust me."

"I trust you to put yourself first."

"Then trust that I won't let them take you."

He stepped through the door.

The instant they crossed the threshold, the old machinery inside the walls woke up. A deep vibration rolled under Sera's boots. The collar flashed blue instead of red.

Kael looked down at it.

"What now?" she demanded.

"Now you stay close."

"I hate that answer."

"Get used to it."

The door slammed shut behind them. Guards pounded against the other side.

For the first time since the execution platform, Sera could not hear Oren's voice.

That should have felt like freedom.

It did not.

The corridor beyond the door was wider, lined with dead consoles and cables thick as her wrist. Small blue lights blinked along the floor, all pointing deeper underground.

Kael started down the path.

Sera followed, keeping three steps between them.

"You said this place is safe," she said.

"I said Oren can't reach it."

"That isn't the same thing."

"No. It isn't."

A sharp pain pulled at the collar.

Sera stopped.

Kael stopped too.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Then why is it tightening?"

He turned and came back to her. "The system is trying to reconnect it."

"Can you stop that?"

"Not from here."

"You said you could keep me alive."

"I can."

"For how long?"

"Long enough."

"That isn't good enough."

"It's all you have."

Sera reached for the collar. Kael caught her hand before her fingers touched the metal.

"Don't," he said.

"Let go."

"You'll trigger the failsafe."

"You keep saying things like I should trust you."

"I keep saying things that are true."

"You have a strange way of proving it."

He stepped closer, bringing her hand down between them. His thumb pressed over her knuckles. The contact was small, controlled, and far too distracting for a man she wanted to kill.

She pulled against him. "You're enjoying this."

"Enjoying what?"

"Having me trapped."

"You're not trapped."

"I'm underground with a wanted ruler, a live execution collar, and armed guards on the other side of a door."

"You forgot the part where I am the only reason you are still breathing."

"I didn't forget. I resent it."

"Good. Resentment keeps you alert."

A sound echoed from farther down the corridor.

Not the guards.

Something heavy dragged across metal.

Kael released her hand and raised his pistol.

Sera drew the backup blade from her boot.

"You hear that?" she whispered.

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know anything."

"I know the guards will breach the door in under two minutes. I know the old systems just recognized your blood signature. I know the collar is trying to connect you to something beneath us. And I know that noise means we are not alone."

"You could've led with the last part."

"You were busy insulting me."

The dragging sound stopped.

A blue light at the end of the corridor flickered once.

Then a voice came through the dark.

"Kael Rusk."

Sera raised her blade.

Kael moved in front of her. "Stay behind me."

"You really need a new line."

"Not now."

The voice laughed softly. It was distorted by the old speakers, but there was something familiar in it. Something that made the collar twitch against Sera's throat.

"You brought her back," the voice said.

Kael's pistol lifted higher. "Show yourself."

"You still give orders like the seat belongs to you."

"It will."

"Not if she remembers."

Sera looked at Kael. "What does that mean?"

He did not answer.

"Kael."

His eyes stayed fixed on the darkness. "Don't listen to it."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you need right now."

The lights along the floor turned red.

The collar flared hot.

Sera gasped and staggered. Kael caught her around the waist before she hit the ground. His arm locked around her ribs, pulling her against him. Heat soaked through his coat. She felt his breath near her temple as he held her upright.

"Let go," she said, but the words came out weak.

"I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

The voice in the dark spoke again.

"The link has chosen."

Kael's grip tightened.

Sera looked down. A thin blue mark had appeared on the inside of her wrist, bright as a fresh burn. A matching mark glowed beneath Kael's sleeve.

"What did you do to me?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Then why are we lit up like targets?"

"Because the system knows we're together."

"We're not together."

"Tell it that."

She tried to pull away.

The collar answered with a vicious pulse. Kael flinched at the same time she did.

Sera froze. "You felt that."

"Yes."

"Why?"

He looked down at her, too close now. His face was inches from hers. His hand stayed firm at her waist, keeping her balanced. His other hand rose to the shackle but stopped just short of touching it.

"Because the link crossed," he said.

"What link?"

"The one between us."

"Break it."

"I can't."

"You said you could fix the collar."

"I said I could keep it from killing you."

"That isn't the same thing."

"No. It isn't."

The guards hit the sealed door again. Metal boomed through the corridor.

The unknown voice whispered, "Run, little weapon. Run before the drop."

Sera's hand tightened around her blade.

The phrase struck a nerve. A white room flashed behind her eyes. A younger voice. A screen filled with numbers. A man standing beside a table, his hand hovering over a switch.

She blinked, and the image vanished.

Kael saw it. "What did you remember?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"Ask me again and I cut you."

"You saw the chamber."

Her stomach turned. "How do you know that?"

Kael's silence answered too much.

Sera shoved him away.

This time he let her go. She spun, blade raised, and pressed the edge beneath his jaw.