Chapter 8 · Synced

"Don't pull away. If you do, the feedback will fry your nervous system—and mine with it."

Kael’s voice was a strained rasp, barely audible over the roar of the wind whipping through the canyon. His hand was clamped tight around Zero’s wrist, his fingers digging into the synthetic skin of her forearm. The neural jack—a jagged, silver needle—was still buried in the port at the base of her skull, tethering them together in a shimmering, agonizing web of data.

Zero didn't pull away. She couldn't. Her muscles were locked, her breath hitching in short, jagged bursts. For the first time in her existence, the screaming white noise in her veins had gone silent. The chronic, grinding pain that usually felt like molten lead flowing through her marrow was gone. In its place was something terrifying: Kael.

She could feel his heart hammering against his ribs. She could taste the metallic tang of his fear and the strange, salt-sweet warmth of his desperation. It wasn't just data; it was a flood of raw, unfiltered emotion that threatened to drown her.

"Why does it feel like this?" Zero whispered, her voice cracking.