My chest tightens. “Eliza…”
“Down the hall,” Ash says, scanning quickly. “Multiple heat signatures.”
“Keep up.”
We move fast. No wasted motion.
A man rounds the corner. He doesn’t finish the step.
I slam him into the wall hard enough to leave a dent. Another reaches for a radio.
Ash shoots the device out of his hand before he can speak.
“Keep moving!”
The closer I get, the worse it gets. Heat floods my veins. My hands shake. Not from weakness. From restraint.
We hit a reinforced door.
Metal. Locked.
My chest compresses hard. She’s behind it. I know it.
“She’s in there,” I say, voice low and dangerous.
Ash steps forward, scanning the panel. “Give me ten seconds?—”
I don’t wait. I plant my hand against the metal. The heat surges. Glyphs blaze to life across my skin.
The door groans, then tears inward under my grip.
Ash lets out a low whistle. “Yeah. Definitely stronger.”
She’s strapped to a chair. Wrists bound. Head slumped forward. The bracelet still wrapped tightly around her wrist.
Dampening her. Dampening us. Something in me gives.
“Eliza.”
I’m across the room in a heartbeat. Her head lifts slightly. Slow. Heavy.
Her eyes flutter open confused. Then they find me. “Kael…?”
Everything else disappears.
I rip the restraints free like they’re nothing. Her body slumps into mine. Too light. Too still.
“Stay with me,” I mutter, lifting her against my chest. Her hand brushes my arm, and the world ignites. The bracelet sparks. Flickers, then fails.
The hum roars back. The lights explode overhead.
Ash swears. “We need to go. Now!”
Alarms blare. Footsteps thunder down the hall.
I don’t look back. Don’t hesitate. Anyone in our way doesn’t stay standing.
We burst through the door into the open air. Tempest rears, sensing it. Sensingher.
