Chapter 9 · A Memory With Kael's Face

"Move, Sera!" Kael shoved her behind the steel support as gunfire chewed through the door.

She hit the wall hard enough to bite her tongue. Blood filled her mouth. Kael landed over her, one hand braced beside her head, the other pressed against his burned side.

"Get off me."

"They have pulse rifles."

"And you have a death wish."

"You noticed."

Another burst slammed into the corridor. The tower shook. Dust dropped from the ceiling and caught in Kael's dark hair. His face was close enough that Sera felt every sharp breath against her cheek.

His heart kicked once.

Hers answered.

The black shackle around her throat tightened.

Sera grabbed the front of his coat. "Make it stop."

"I can't."

"You built it."

"No. I stole it. Big difference."

"Tell that to my neck."

The metal band pulsed again. Pain flashed behind her eyes. Kael's fingers dug into the floor as the same shock ran through him. His jaw clenched, but he didn't make a sound.

That made her angrier.

"You feel it too," she said.

"You already know that."

"I want you to say it."

"Fine. I feel every spike. Every tremor. If your heart stops, mine follows.