Chapter 8 · The Forbidden Hum

"Stop moving or I'll blow your damn ear off," Lyra hissed, her voice trembling as she shoved Kane against a rusted bulkhead.

He didn't flinch. He barely breathed. The cold metal of the wall bit into his shoulder blades, but all he could feel was the heat radiating off her—the smell of ozone and desperation. Her small hand was clamped tight over his mouth, her knuckles white.

"Do you have any idea how close they are?" she whispered, her lips almost brushing his ear. "Vargas doesn't just kill people. He erases them. If he finds us here, there won't even be a body to bury in the scrap."

Kane pulled her hand down with a slow, deliberate motion. He didn't use force, just a steady pressure that made her gasp. He looked at her, his eyes scanning the panic in her pupils.

"You're shaking," he noted. His voice was low, a grating rumble that sounded like grinding stone.

"I'm terrified, you idiot!" Lyra snapped, stepping back and wiping her palm on her greasy trousers. "You're a walking beacon of everything the Empire wants back. Every time you use that...