Chapter 7 · she said. Kael lifted his head

She rammed the stolen shock baton into his ribs.

His body locked. Sera shoved him away, but the baton spat back through her palm. Her fingers went numb.

Across the room, Kael fired at the second guard. The shot went wide when the guard threw up an arc shield.

"Kael!"

He glanced at her.

That was enough.

The guard aimed the arc projector at Sera's chest.

Kael crossed the room in two strides and stepped between them.

The blast hit him.

Blue-white light swallowed his body. His back slammed into the wall. The smell of scorched fabric filled the room.

Sera felt it all.

Heat ripped through her ribs. Her muscles clenched. Her lungs seized. She tasted blood, though her mouth hadn't been hit.

Kael dropped to one knee.

The connection pulled tight between them, invisible but brutal. His pain ran through her nerves in sharp pulses. She saw his fingers dig into the floor. Saw the tremor in his shoulder. Heard the rough sound he tried to keep locked behind his teeth.

"Get up," she said.

Kael lifted his head. "That your medical advice?"

"I said get up."

"Busy."

The guard charged him.

Sera moved before she thought.