Chapter 16 · The Protocol That Lied

"Drop the drive, Kael, or I cut power to your heart." Nyx stood three steps away with a stolen pulse pistol aimed at his chest.

Kael tightened his grip on the black data wafer. "You could've started with hello."

"I tried hello. You shot at me."

"You shot first."

"I was making a point."

"You made it through my shoulder."

"And you're still complaining. Good. That means the tether hasn't fried your brain yet."

The station's lower market shook around them. Metal shutters slammed. Somewhere above, boots hammered across the maintenance deck. The Empire had found them, and Nyx had decided the worst possible moment was perfect for another betrayal.

Kael backed toward the sealed service door. The drive pressed into his palm, hot enough to sting. It held the fragment Vargas had pulled from the old black box—the fragment that showed Kael standing beside Nyx on the night the Empire erased her.

He wanted answers.

Nyx wanted the drive.

The soldiers outside wanted both of them alive, at least until Vargas got bored.

"You have three seconds," Nyx said.

Kael glanced at the weapon. "Your hands are shaking."

Her jaw locked. "Your heart is skipping.