Chapter 8 · Do not make me say it

She did not answer.

That silence hit harder than the rifle fire.

Kael stepped into her space. "Nyx."

"Do not make me say it."

"Say it."

Her gaze dropped to his mouth, then snapped back to his eyes. "If he opens the port, I might shut down."

"Might?"

"I do not know."

"And if he does nothing?"

"I definitely shut down."

Kael looked at the surgical table. Then at the locked doors. Then back at her.

"Put me beside her," he told Soren.

Nyx grabbed his jacket. "No."

"You need my pulse."

"I need you conscious."

"You need me either way."

"That does not mean I trust you."

"Good. I don't trust you either."

Her metal fingers pressed into his chest. The heat from her palm spread through his shirt. "If you betray me—"

"You will kill me. You've said that."

"No. I will make you watch while I erase every memory you have of yourself."

Kael leaned closer. Their faces nearly touched. "Then don't give me a reason."

For once, Nyx had no sharp answer ready.

Soren moved toward the table.

"Straps," he said. "Both of you. The tether may surge when I access her core.