Chapter 37 · Six Hours Left

"You're not crossing that line."

Kael's hand locked around my wrist before I got within ten feet of the corpse barrier. The dead soldiers were piled three deep where the core chamber began, their armor fused to the stone floor like they'd been cooked into the foundation.

"Let go," I said.

"No."

I twisted against his grip. Didn't budge. His fingers were warm even through my sleeve, and I could feel his pulse hammering against my forearm. Six hours left on the clock and he was wasting them on this.

"Kael, I don't have time for—"

"Neither do I." He pulled me back a step. His other hand came up to my shoulder, turning me to face him. "You saw what happened to them. You walk through that, you end up the same way."

"I've died worse."

"Not on my watch."

I looked up at him. His jaw was locked tight, and there was something in his eyes I hadn't seen in any of the previous loops—actual fear. Not the controlled kind he used to make tactical calls. The kind that made people do stupid things.

"Your watch ends in six hours," I said. "Everything ends in six hours.