Chapter 20 · The Burn

"Put the blade down, Tessa." Cael caught her wrist before the knife reached the glowing chain between them.

His palm was hot. Not warm. Hot enough to sting through her sleeve.

She drove her elbow back.

He caught that too.

Cael twisted her against the metal pillar beside the core chamber. Her shoulder struck first. The knife stayed trapped between them, its edge hovering over the bright line running from her chest to his.

"Let go."

"Cut that lock, and the core goes with us."

"Good."

His jaw tightened. "Your brother's still in the lower ward."

That stopped her.

For half a second.

It was all Cael needed. He pinned her wrist above her head, his forearm braced beside her face. His breath brushed her cheek, hot and uneven. He'd already pushed too much power through the chamber, and the bond made every rough beat of his heart slam against her ribs.

"Say it again," he said.

Tessa stared up at him. "I said good. Let the core take you. Let it take me. Let the whole rotten tower fall on the people who built it."

"Your brother won't survive the shield collapse."

"You don't know that."

"I do.