Before she could say anything else, a sharp, searing pain shot through her chest. She gasped as her vision blurred. She collapsed to her knees.
“Toni!” His voice was distant, frantic.
Her breath hitched as she crumpled to the cold floor. The world around her spun, a chaotic whirlwind of light and shadow. The sounds of battle echoed in her ears—Azazel’s sharp grunts, the crystalline shattering of another alien Elite, the hum of machinery pulsing through the chamber like a threatening heartbeat.
Her fingers twitched, brushing against the bottom of the smooth console she’d been working on moments ago. Pain radiated from her chest, sharp and unrelenting. Not that she’d let that stop her. She had to finish what she started. For some weird reason, the console had responded to her touch, to her desperation. She wasn’t sure how or why, but damn if she’d let the effort go to waste.
“Toni!” Azazel’s voice sliced through the haze, sharp and commanding. His boots slammed against the floor as he moved toward her, his katana flashing as it caught the light. “Stay with me.”
“I’m fine.” Toni gasped, doing her best to swallow the trembling in her voice. She forced herself to sit up, rubbing her eyes to clear away the blur. Even with the dangerous tilt to the room, she focused on Azazel.
“You don’t look fine,” he observed in a quiet tone. “Can you move?”
She braced her hands against the floor, her arms shaking as she pushed to stand. “Yes, just give me a minute.” With a grunt, she staggered to her feet, her legs wobbling beneath her.
Azazel gripped her arm to help her.
Every nerve in her body screamed, demanding she sit down. Not gonna happen. No way would this girl let that crystal-creep Baelon get his hands on her again. Clenching her teeth, she pulled herself up to the control panel, slapping the surface to steady herself. Narrowing her eyes, she struggled to focus on the glowing symbols.
The sound of stomping crystal feet told her more guards had found them.
“Just keep those freaky crystal assholes away from me,” she demanded as Azazel released her. She didn’t look at him, instead focusing on the console. “Come on,” she muttered, her fingers skimming over the alien interface. “Whatever you are, whatever you did before—I dare ya. Do it again.”
The lights on the console flickered, pulsing at an erratic pace under her touch. A low hum built in the air, growing louder, deeper, until it vibrated in her bones.
The Krystalii soldiers paused, their crystalline bodies twitching as if sensing the shift in energy.
Azazel seized the moment, cutting through the nearest Elite with a precise strike. Shards rained down around him as he spun to face the others, his braid whipping through the air. His naked, masculine torso shone in the low light.
“What are you doing?” he called out, glancing at her over his shoulder.
Toni jerked her head away to stop from ogling the impressive sight of the man’s imposing physique.Damn, girl. Get hold of yourself. Pay attention. Life-and-death situation here. “Improvising.” She croaked and forced her fingers to move faster. At first, nothing happened, but then the symbols shifted and aligned under her hands. She didn’t understand it, not fully, but instinct guided her—like solving a puzzle she didn’t know she could solve.
The hum reached a crescendo and shook the chamber.
The remaining Elites faltered, their movements disjointed.
Azazel didn’t hesitate, cutting through one with a swift, decisive blow before turning to the last. “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!” he shouted. With one high-powered swing, his katana met another Elite’s weapon in a clash that sent sparks flying.
“Of course, Commander Chaos!” she snapped, her voice raw. Sweat dripped down her temple as she pressed her hand against the blinking surface.
While she worked on the alien console at a frantic pace, JR14 buzzed by her head and landed on a nearby surface. He observed her movements with keen, luminous orange eyes. His metallic limbs twitched as he turned his attention to the console’s response to her touch.
“Observation,” he intoned, his voice precise and clinical. “Human female’s interaction with the console exhibits an anomalous pattern of resonance alignment. Hypothesis: her bioelectric field synchronizes with the interface at a molecular level. Likelihood of this being a random occurrence: statistically negligible.”
She glanced at him but didn’t stop her fingers from flying across the console. “What in the hell does that mean?”
JR14 tilted his small metallic head. The orbs of his eyes turned from orange to sky blue. “Clarification: your physiology appears uniquely compatible with this technology. Probable cause: genetic markers or latent psychic potential currently unidentified. Further study required.”
She had no respose to that shitload of crazy. “Holy cow. Now’s not the time for scientific research, Mr. Wizard!” Toni snapped, her voice strained. “Just let me know if I’m about to blow us all up, ‘k?”
“Probability of detonation: low,” JR14 replied, unperturbed. “Probability of successful activation: increasing. Suggest continuation of current actions.”
Azazel dispatched another Krystalii, then spared a brief glance at JR14. “Can you simplify that assessment?”
JR14’s legs clicked in a way that Toni suspected was how he displayed exasperation. “Simplification: the human female is the key.”
A symbol lit up under her hands, catching her attention. The blazing crimson light erupted in a surge of energy.
