I can’t leave him.
Behind me, Kieran and Ash were already fighting — power flaring bright against the darkening sky. Ash hurled a cyclone upward, catching one chopper and sending it spiralling out of control.
The ground shook as it crashed.
Still more kept coming.
I looked around, desperate for a way to help.
Dev was suddenly there.
He caught my arm as I turned, grip firm, grounding, eyes already tracking the chaos above us.
“Seph,” he said urgently. “You need to leave. Now.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
“Seph please!”
Gunfire cracked overhead. Soldiers in white mech suits were pouring down the ridge now.
“No!”
Dev followed my gaze, jaw tightening. “You are so fucking stubborn! Fine!”
“If you stay,” he said, voice low and steady, “you stay with me. Do you understand me?”
“I do.”
Another explosion rocked the ground. Ash’s wind tore through the sky, but there were too many angles. Too many targets.
Then I remembered something.
That night in the elevator — when I’d brushed Dev’s skin and felt his power answer mine.
Is it possible?
I looked down at my gloves — at the thin barrier between me and him.
Dev’s eyes widened.
“Seph,” he said carefully. “What are you thinking?”
“Use me,” I said. “I can push your power—just for a few seconds.”
I tore the glove off.
“I don’t know if it’ll work,” I added. “Or what it’ll do to us.”
His gaze dropped to my bare hand, then lifted again.
“My magic isn’t clean,” he said quietly. “It hurts. It always has.”
“I know,” I said. “So does mine.”
A beat.
“Will it hurt you?”
