Chapter 41 · The First Lab

"Do not touch that door." Kael caught Sera by the back of her coat and yanked her away from the sealed blast door.

Her boots scraped across the metal floor. The bond between them snapped tight, heat flashing under her skin where his fingers locked around the fabric.

"Take your hand off me."

"The door is wired to the Core."

"Then let it blow."

Kael stepped in front of her, blocking the access panel with his body. He had a cut along his jaw, dark blood sliding beneath his collar. His coat was torn at the shoulder, and one hand stayed pressed against his ribs.

Still standing. Still ordering people around.

Sera drove her elbow toward his injured side.

He caught her wrist before she landed the hit.

"You really want to test me right now?" he asked.

"I want to see if you bleed like everyone else."

His grip tightened. Not enough to hurt. Enough to remind her that he could.

"If you open that door," he said, "the Core will read your bond signature and start the old sequence."

"Good. Maybe it will kill you first."

"It will kill the city first. Then us.