The restraint around my ankle tightened hard enough to bruise. Cold metal locked against bone while another mechanism snapped around Kessler’s wrist with violent force, dragging him down to one knee beside me.
The platform pulsed brighter beneath us. White light spread through the carved symbols in slow waves that looked disturbingly alive. The awareness surged violently beneath my skin.
Bond integrity confirmed. Convergence synchronization is accelerating. Panic crashed through me instantly. Not mine alone. Kessler’s too.
The synchronization amplified everything now. Fear bled across the bond so completely I could no longer tell where my emotions ended and his began.
“Kessler” I know.” His voice came out tight with restrained violence as he pulled against the restraint again. The meta
