I step into the line of fire and take the blast across my upper back. The force drives me forward into her, and we hit the wall together. The air leaves her lungs in a sharp gasp as I brace one arm over her head, shielding her from the shower of sparks raining down from the ruptured ceiling.
The smell of burned metal fills the corridor. Heat ripples along my spine.
“You insane bastard,” she breathes against my shoulder.
“You’re welcome,” I reply, voice rough.
Another explosion rocks the corridor behind us as someone detonates a breaching charge too close to volatile conduit lines. The blast wave slams into us, rattling my bones and shoving Elara fully against my chest. Her fingers clutch at my armor instinctively.
For a split second, everything narrows.
Her breath against my collarbone.
Her heartbeat pounding against my ribs.
The bond flares violently, almost painfully, something primal and possessive surging beneath the surface.
“Elara,” I say, forcing control back into my voice. “Route.”
She shakes herself once, eyes clearing. “Maintenance hatch—left—five meters!”
I turn, still shielding her with my body as Varek engages two officers at the corridor bend. He doesn’t kill them. He disarms one with a brutal twist that sends the rifle clattering across the floor and drives the other into a wall panel hard enough to dent it without shattering bone.
“Fall back!” someone yells behind them.
We reach the hatch just as another plasma bolt carves a molten scar across the wall inches from Elara’s head.
I grab the hatch handle and rip it open. The ladder shaft inside drops into dimness, lit only by sparse emergency strips far below.
“You first,” I tell her.
She hesitates for a fraction of a second—just long enough for another blast to rip through the corridor behind us.
“Go!” I bark.
She drops onto the ladder and descends quickly. I pivot back toward the corridor as three more officers round the bend.
“Stand down!” one shouts.
“I am under League arbitration!” I fire back.
“You’re under arrest!”
“That is redundant.”
He fires.
The bolt slams into my shoulder, snapping my torso backward with violent force. Pain blooms hot and immediate, but I stay upright long enough to lunge forward and seize his weapon arm. I redirect the next shot into the ceiling, then slam my forehead into his helmet with enough force to crack the visor.
He drops.
Another officer charges. I sweep his legs out from under him and drive him into the wall, careful to aim for armor, not spine.
“Kael!” Elara calls from below.
I back into the shaft and descend quickly, boots clanging against metal rungs as plasma bolts scorch the opening above.
The ladder vibrates violently as someone fires into the shaft, bolts streaking downward in sizzling arcs. I twist my body, using my own frame as a shield over Elara as we descend.
