Chapter 2

"You dragged me off a table," she said. "Maybe your heart got confused."

"Don't joke."

"Then stop pointing knives at people you need alive."

His grip tightened.

Heat shot up her arm. A hard thump punched through her chest.

Not her heartbeat.

His.

Cael's eyes narrowed. "You felt that."

"I felt you panic. It's embarrassing."

Another pulse slammed through her ribs. The tunnel lights flashed blue, then died.

Beyond the sealed service gate, metal shrieked. The city blockade had reached the lower transit line.

Cael glanced toward the gate. "The wardens are closing the ring."

"I noticed."

"You said you could get us through."

"I said I could get me through. You were supposed to stay unconscious and look expensive."

"You broke the lock."

"I repaired it."

"You tied our hearts together."

"Your heart was already attached to mine when I found you. I just stopped it from killing us both."

The blade pressed closer. Cold kissed her throat.

"Fix it," he said.

Tessa smiled without showing teeth. "Sure. Give me a clean workbench, three hours, a pulse key, and the part you hid in your boot."

Cael went still.

There it was.

The tiny pause. The slight drop in his shoulders.

He knew exactly what she meant.

"You searched me," he said.

"You were on a black-market table with half the city hunting you. I searched everything."

"You didn't find it."

"No. But I know it's there."

Cael leaned closer. His coat brushed her knee. His body blocked the broken light, leaving only the hard line of his jaw and the pale glow beneath his skin.

"If you knew what that key could do, you'd be begging me to give it back."

"If you knew what I could do with it, you'd be begging me not to take it."

His mouth tightened. "You think this is a game?"

"No. I think it's a debt. You need my hands. I need your money. And right now, we both need to stop the wardens from turning this tunnel into a grave."

The gate boomed.

A voice rolled through the speakers. "Unregistered pulse signature detected. Surrender the heir and the illegal technician. Failure to comply will trigger a purge."

Cael's heartbeat stumbled against hers.

Not fear this time.

Anger.

Blue lines crawled across the tunnel walls, searching for a way through. The metal beneath Tessa's palm heated fast.

She shoved his shoulder. "Don't."

"Move."

"Your pulse is feeding the blockade."

"The blockade is feeding on me."

"Same problem."

"Then get out of my way."

"I can't. You're standing on my boot."

Cael looked down.

His heel was planted on the toe of her left boot, trapping her against the wall. He didn't move.

"You talk too much," he said.

"And you stomp too hard. Move."

The gate boomed again. A crack split across the lock. Blue-white light poured through it.

Tessa hooked her free hand around Cael's wrist and drove two fingers into the pulse node beneath his sleeve.

His power snapped sideways.

Cael sucked in a breath and slammed his palm beside her head.

"Touch that node again," he said, his voice low, "and I break your fingers."

"Try it."

"You don't know what you're touching."

"I know exactly what I'm touching. Your regulator is damaged. You're pushing power through a dead channel."

"You're wrong."

"Then why is your left hand shaking?"

His eyes dropped to his hand.

Half a second.

That was all she needed.

Tessa twisted, drove her elbow into his ribs, and slipped beneath his arm. The pulse-blade scraped sparks from the wall as Cael caught her coat and yanked her back.

Her back hit his chest.

His arm locked across her waist. Heat poured through both layers of fabric. His chin nearly brushed her temple.

"That was rude," he said.

"You started it."

"You hit me."

"You threatened my fingers."

"You were about to cripple me."

"I was about to save you. Learn the difference."

The gate began to lift.

An armored boot appeared beneath it.

Tessa's stomach dropped. A blue shield badge glowed on the boot. Three more wardens waited behind it, weapons charged.

Cael pulled her back another inch. "How do we cross?"

"You ask nicely."

"Tessa."

Her name landed differently in his mouth.

Not a warning this time. A command.

It still made her pulse jump.

She hated that.

"We share the load," she said. "You open the gate. I bleed the excess into the tunnel grid."

"That'll burn you."

"You noticed?"

"No."

"Liar."

Cael's arm tightened. "What happens if you fail?"

"The blockade detonates."

"And if I fail?"

"The wardens get us."

"That's not what I asked."

Tessa watched the armored boots beneath the rising gate. "If you lose control, the shield drops over three districts. People die."

His grip went still.

"You knew," he said.

"I read the core markings before I touched you."

"You knew who I was?"

"I knew you were expensive. The family crest on your pulse cuff gave away the rest."

Cael turned her around. His hand stayed at her waist, keeping her close while the wardens forced the gate higher.

"Say it," he said.

"You're Cael Arden. Missing heir. Shield-maker royalty. Walking disaster."

"And you still pulled me off the table."

"I needed the payout."

"From whom?"

"The person who paid for your heart."

His gaze sharpened. "Who hired you?"

"You first. Why were you on a table?"

"Answer me."

"No."

The gate slammed into its upper track.

A warden raised his weapon.

Cael's power surged.

Tessa slapped her palm against his chest.

The shared heartlock opened like a trapdoor.

His pulse crashed into her. Fear. Fury. A tower room filled with restraints. A man's voice barking, Hold him down.

A young Cael fought until blood ran from his mouth.

Then the pain hit.

Tessa folded with a gasp.

"Don't look," Cael snapped.

"I didn't ask permission."

"Get out of my head."

"It's your head in mine!"

The wardens shouted beyond the gate.

"Target acquired!"

Cael threw one hand toward the opening. Blue force slammed into the first weapon and crushed it against the wall.

The impact shook the tunnel.

The lock screamed through Tessa's bones.

"Now!" Cael barked.

"I am!"

She dragged the excess power down through the old transit rails. Her palm burned. Metal buckled beneath her boots.

"Left channel," she said. "You're flooding the right."

"The left is dead."

"It's blocked."

"By what?"

"By your ego. Push!"

Cael snarled and shoved more power into the channel.

Tessa caught it with both hands. Light burst between them, crawling over her fingers and splitting her gloves with heat.

The wardens fired.

Cael turned and put himself between her and the shots.

The first blast struck his shoulder.

He staggered.

His heartbeat vanished from her chest for one terrifying second.

"Cael!"

He came back with a rough breath. "Keep working."

"You're bleeding."

"You're distracting me."

"You got shot."

"It's a scratch."

"Then stop leaning on me."

"I'm not leaning."

"Your entire body is leaning."

His hand found the back of her neck. Not hard. Just enough to hold her steady while the tunnel shook around them.

"Tessa," he said. "Look at me."

She did.

His face was too close. Sweat darkened the edge of his collar. His breath warmed her cheek, uneven but controlled. Blue light caught in his eyes and turned them almost silver.

"If the channel snaps, let go," he said.

"No."

"That's not a suggestion."

"You don't get to decide what I do with my hands."

"If you stay connected, it'll tear through you."

"Then hold the line."

His thumb moved once against her neck.

Small. Careful.

It hit harder than the blade.

"You don't know me," he said.

"I know you're scared."

His jaw flexed. "I'm not scared."

"Your heart just tried to climb out of my chest."

"That's your heart."

"It has your bad manners."

A warden shouted, "Arden! Kneel and surrender! The girl is expendable!"

Cael's hand tightened at her neck.

"No."

The word came out flat. Final.

Tessa felt it inside the lock.

Not a command.

A choice.

She shoved the last surge into the left rail.

The blockade cracked.

Every light in the tunnel exploded at once. The wardens vanished behind a wall of white static. The gate dropped between them with a violent crash.

The pressure broke.

Tessa's knees buckled.

Cael caught her before she hit the floor. His arm locked around her back. Her hands grabbed the front of his coat on instinct.

For one breath, neither of them moved.

His heartbeat thudded against hers.

Steady now.

Too close.

"Let go," she muttered.

"You're shaking."

"I'm cold."

"Your gloves are smoking."

"Fashion choice."

He looked at her burned gloves, then back at her face. "You took the backlash."

"You were busy being a shield."

"You could've died."

"So could you."

"That wasn't your decision to make."

"Funny. I thought saving both of us was the whole point."

His fingers slid from her back to her wrist. He turned her hand over, studying the red marks across her palm.

Tessa tried to pull away.

He didn't let her.

"Don't touch me like I'm fragile," she said.

"You're bleeding."

"I've had worse."

"From fixing illegal tech?"

"From men who talk too much."

His eyes lifted. "You want me to stop talking?"

"For once."

Cael leaned in.

Not enough to kiss her. Enough for his breath to warm the corner of her mouth. His thumb rested against her pulse, counting each beat.

Tessa went still.

"You really don't know when to stop," he murmured.

"You really don't know how to ask."

His gaze dropped to her lips, then rose to meet hers.

The pause pulled tight.

Tessa shoved him back.

"Safehouse," she said. "Move before I decide the wardens were less annoying."

Cael released her wrist. "You have one."

"I have several."

"Which one's closest?"

"The one you can reach without collapsing."

"I don't collapse."

"You almost did twice."

"You counted?"

"I count everything. It's how I stay alive."

They moved through the service tunnel before the blockade could reset. Cael kept one hand against the wall, using the other to keep the heartlock quiet. Tessa stayed close enough to feel every rough hitch in his breathing.

Neither of them mentioned it.

At the next junction, he caught her arm and pulled her behind a maintenance pillar.

Tessa's back hit his chest again.

"What now?" she whispered.

"Patrol."

Boots scraped across the far platform.

Cael's mouth came close to her ear. "Don't move."

"Your hand is on my waist."

"Want me to move it?"

"I want you to stop enjoying this."

"You think I'm enjoying hiding from armed wardens?"

"I think you enjoy telling me what to do."

"You keep doing the opposite."

A patrol light swept over the pillar.

Cael pressed her closer. His coat covered her shoulders. His warmth cut through the cold metal at her back.

Tessa felt his pulse beneath the hand at her waist.

One beat.

Two.

The heartlock answered with hers.

She held her breath.

The patrol passed.

Cael waited three more seconds before stepping away.

Tessa caught his sleeve. "You knew they were coming."

"I heard them."

"No. You felt them."

He looked at her hand on his sleeve. "Let go."

"You first. What does this lock let you sense?"

"Nothing useful."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the one you're getting."

She tugged his sleeve up before he could stop her.

A black pulse cuff circled his wrist. The Arden crest had been scratched nearly off, but a narrow silver seam remained beneath it.

Tessa's mouth went dry.

"That's not a cuff," she said. "It's a—"