Chapter 25 · Echo Trap

"Get your hands off me, Kael. Now."

Zero didn't just pull away; she slammed her shoulder into his chest, sending him reeling back against the rusted bulkhead of the shelter. Her breath was coming in jagged hitches, and her eyes—usually a cold, calculated silver—were flickering with a violent, erratic gold. The pain-circuits were screaming again, and when Zero felt pain, she looked for something to break.

Kael hit the wall with a dull thud, but he didn't move to defend himself. He just stood there, arms slightly open, looking at her with that damn expression. That look that said he saw something in her other than a weapon.

"You're spiking," Kael said, his voice low, steady. "I can see the neural lag in your pupils. Just let me stabilize the link."

"I don't need stabilizing!" Zero snarled. She lunged, her fingers locking around his throat. Not enough to crush his windpipe—not yet—but enough to pin him firmly against the cold metal. "I need the noise to stop. Why won't it stop?"

Kael didn't fight the grip. He leaned into it, his warmth contrasting with the freezing air of the dead moon.