Chapter 39 · The Guns Turn on Her

"Get down, Mara!"

Dorian hit me before my fingers reached the tower console.

His shoulder slammed into my chest. My back struck the iron housing, and the breath punched out of me.

A gun cracked.

The round tore through the rail where my head had been.

"You want me behind you?" I shoved at his vest. "Move."

"Not happening."

"Dorian, the guns are linked to the signal tower. If I don't break the command, they'll keep firing."

"Then break it from the floor."

"The floor doesn't have a manual override."

Another shot ripped through the railing. Metal screamed beside my ear. Dorian grabbed the back of my coat and dragged me lower as fragments sprayed across the roof.

For half a second, his body covered mine.

Hard chest. Hot breath against my temple. One gloved hand braced beside my face while the other aimed toward the northern ridge.

"Stay down," he said.

"Stop ordering me around like we're still in that courtroom."

"Stop acting like getting yourself killed proves a point."

"It proves I think faster than you."

His jaw tightened. "You have ten seconds before the next volley."

"Then stop wasting them.