Chapter 7 · Don't Trust the Resonance

"Drop the cutter, Kael, or I put a round through your hand." Sloane's pistol pressed against the base of my skull.

My fingers stayed locked around the brass handle. One twist. That was all it needed. The Foundry's restraint cage would open, and my father would fall straight into the burning tank beneath the Heart.

"You shoot me, the lock stays sealed," I said.

"Then I shoot your knee. You can crawl to the controls."

"That's not how the cage works."

"You expect me to believe you?"

"No. I expect you to notice the red light over the door."

Her gun shifted a fraction.

I smiled without turning around. "That light means the Archon's guards have already found us. We have maybe thirty seconds before they flood this room."

"You said we had two minutes."

"I was being optimistic. Try it sometime."

Sloane's free hand caught the back of my coat and yanked me away from the control panel. My shoulder hit the iron rail. Pain snapped down my arm. The resonance mark at my neck answered with a cold burn.

Her breath touched my ear.

"You lied to me," she said.

"I edited the truth. Big difference.